


Fox Among Eagles and Sharks

by bamboofoxfireproductions



Category: AC4 - Fandom, Assassin's Creed, Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag, Naruto, Naruto Shippuden
Genre: 1700's, 18th Century, AU, American Colonies, Assassins, British Colonies, Captain!Naruto, Crossover, Eagle Vision (Assassin's Creed), F/M, First Civilization, Gen, Golden Age of Piracy, Indies, Japan, Nihon, Nippon, Pieces of Eden, Pirate!Naruto, Pirates, Templars, West Indies, caribbean
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-05-03 15:01:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 46,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5295749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bamboofoxfireproductions/pseuds/bamboofoxfireproductions
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kidnapped from his home village at the age of nine and stolen overseas, Uzumaki Naruto finds himself in a completely foreign land where he can't understand anyone. When he tries to flee from his captors, a man named Edward saves him, and can't help but notice that the boy has some very unique and advanced natural talents that'd make him a useful crew member.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Fox among Eagles and Sharks  
** **A Naruto and Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag crossover**

* * *

It was almost a certainty that he was never going to be rid of the smell of sea salt and rank fish that leaked through the cracks in the wood and lurching water that sent the place pitching back and forth in nausea-inducing tandem. Back and forth, back and forth. It just never stopped.

He supposed it was a pretty good thing that he didn't get motion sickness easily, though on the nights he could hear the horrible moaning of a storm, even he had a bit of trouble.

Of course, what little was available to him to eat didn't exactly help keep away any sort of feelings of nausea. He couldn't help but think that even stray dogs must've eaten better food than he had in…however long it had been.

He'd lost track of the passing of time. Of course it hardly seemed to matter, there wasn't much place for him to go to or much to see anyway, just endless, rolling waves. Of course, even if he'd _wanted_ to go up on deck, there was still the metal shackle on his right ankle keeping him from fresh air.

He sighed and peered through dirty locks of short, light auburn hair with vivid blue eyes, one of the rare traits that had set him apart appearance-wise in his village. He couldn't help but silently mourn his separation from his home, not even fully knowing exactly how he'd left it to begin with.

He could only vaguely remember being knocked out, a few fleeting moments of consciousness that he couldn't recall the details of, and now he was locked to the metal bars of what was basically the mini-prison of a ship.

Where it was headed and how long he'd been out, he had no idea, but what he did know was that wherever it was, it was a long ways away from his village. Silently he couldn't help but wonder if anyone was even looking for him. Everyone in the village looked down on him as it was, so maybe they'd even celebrate that he was gone.

It wouldn't really surprise him. So many of the people in the village were just cruel and heartless.

He stiffened slightly as he heard boots stomping on wood and looked up warily as a ragged man reeking of salt and alcohol lumbered up, speaking what may as well have been gibberish.

He'd learned quite some time ago that no one on this damn ship actually bothered speaking in any way he could actually understand.

Still, it didn't stop them from going on and on with…whatever they were trying to say, getting impatient and angry with his silence.

"I don't know what you're saying," he mumbled when the man kept talking and giving him an angry look, the boy keeping his head down where he was sitting on the ground but glaring defiantly and without fear none the less.

The man only continued to blabber nonsense at him before raising his voice and kicking the kid sharply under his ribs, making him yelp in pain and double over. Still, the guy raised his voice even higher and sharper, as if roaring was going to make him any easier to understand.

The brunette shot him a dirty look and remained silent, his mind already trying to calculate some sort of payback for the jerk that decided to kick him.

His blue eyes came to land on the keys at the man's belt and he couldn't help but wonder if they'd undo the shackle on his leg. Maybe there wasn't much point in that since there wasn't exactly much of anywhere for him to go out on the ocean, but the kid was stubborn and at the very least he'd get a little satisfaction of revenge while he was loose.

He winced as the man lunged and snatched him up by his hair, the boy gritting his teeth as he struggled to get loose and pry the hand off him. When he managed to succeed he made it a point to sink his teeth hard into the webbing of the man's thumb, feeling a rush of satisfaction as the man howled in pain and let go of him.

With swift reflexes the boy was quick to snatch the keys from his belt and try them on the shackle keeping him chained. Three hasty keys later and it came off, the boy not wasting any time ducking around the man.

He seemed to have managed to catch the guy off guard with his speed as he darted down the corridor of the ship and up the steps to the deck before the man was actually able to fully realize what happened and give chase.

When he reached the top and ran to the railing, he stopped and gasped as he realized he wasn't on the open ocean at all, but that they'd stopped to port. It wasn't anywhere that he recognized, the very concept of buildings almost feeling foreign to him after being trapped in that dank little space inside the ship for what had certainly been months of his life.

The place was incredibly busy though, people crowding the street as they milled up and down it. The number of people was almost overwhelming.

He was snapped out of his awe as he heard shouting and whirled around, the man having finally caught up to the deck and glared at him, several others finally seeming to have noticed and dropping what they were doing.

He didn't even spare a second to think about it, pushing off the railing and darting down the gangplank to the dock. Several people tried to snatch him as the men behind him shouted total nonsense but the boy was nimble and quick to take notice, dodging expertly around them even as he took off down the street and into the crowds.

A few people glanced his way as he passed, seemingly curious about what was going on but he paid them no heed, focused on getting away from his pursuers first and foremost.

He ran between two buildings and immediately veered right as the path split, following a long side-road with nothing connecting it for a couple of blocks until coming back to another part of the main road and veering left along the close side of it, and then diagonally left on another turn and into another back alley.

He continued straight for a short while until he saw a small set of wood stairs leading up onto the building rooftops, climbing up it and onto the top of the buildings with relative ease, making it look easy.

He went across several until a man holding a long weapon in hand saw him, not familiar from the ship but barking angrily at him as well. The boy skidded to a stop and dodged around an attempt to grab him but he was too quick for this man as well, running past him.

The building ended with too big of a distance for him to jump and the boy veered right, continuing along the roof to the edge where it was closer to another building.

He leapt up onto the railing and went to leap across but paused as he heard a shout, instead crouching on the wood beam and looking down. One of the men that had been chasing him was glaring up and picked up a fist-sized rock, chucking it hard and managing to hit the boy in the jaw, sending him off balance and crashing from the roof.

He fell to the ground hard, pain jolting through his entire body before it all went black. For how long, he couldn't be sure, but he was coming back to again and could only guess that it hadn't been that long, his eyes taking in the same general scene as before if only from a different angle.

He whimpered softly even as he tasted blood, his entire body aching. A large, calloused hand grabbed him by the upper arm and yanked him up, making him cry out hoarsely as it only made the pain in his body worse but the guy didn't seem to have any care or sympathy for any of it, only dragging him forward.

He hurt too much to break free and make a run for it but tried to struggle out of the man's grasp anyway, planting his feet firmly in the ground and resisting even as he screamed out, "Help! Help! Someone! Help! Please help!"

* * *

They were only really making a stop for repairs to the ship before heading back out to sea, but the blond young man should've known that it wouldn't be _completely_ without event.

They had anchored at one of the major ports of the northern coastal colonies, after the hull of their vessel had been damaged by a pirate ship and was taking on too much water. It would probably be some time before it was repaired and they were back out to sea.

That was definitely not an appealing thought. Pay would be low if not non-existent until they were out privateering again.

Back to his observations before he'd become distracted, he heard angry shouting and couldn't help but look to see where it was coming from.

What he saw was someone apparently being chased across the rooftops. While it wasn't completely unheard of, the person was just a _kid_. And a young one at that.

The way the boy leapt over and scaled things was amazing, making short work of the rooftop and other obstacles as if it were nothing. He was obviously well-practiced at it.

The other thing he noticed were the men running along the ground in the alleyway, shouting at the boy and going so far as to throw a sizeable rock, knocking the poor, unprepared kid from the third-story roof, and by how they just yanked him to his feet afterwards and tried to drag him along, they were a far cry from caring about it.

Other people were looking to see what was going on but not a single soul seemed either brave or caring enough to step forward even as the kid tried to pull away from them, obviously not a willing participant, and screaming out frantically in what sounded like a foreign tongue.

" _Tasukete! Tasukete! Dare ka! Tasukete! Tasukete onegaii!_ "

It seemed obvious to him from the way the men held themselves and spoke that they were seafarers, probably pirates, or perhaps slave traders. Or more likely, both.

Now Edward Kenway might not have been the most compassionate man ever to walk the Earth or the type to mix himself into most others' private affairs, but this seemed to be a little barbaric to the young man, even for pirates, as far as he could tell.

The man was too busy wrestling the kid along to even notice him as he stepped forward until he'd appeared right at the guy's side, snatching up his wrist tightly and leveling harsh eyes on him challengingly.

"Do ye' want something?" the man barked out demandingly through crooked, yellowing teeth and breath stained with the foul odor of rum, fish, and other unnamed filth.

"I do indeed. I can't help but wonder exactly what a man of your size thinks he can accomplish brutalizing a boy not even half his size and perhaps only a fourth his age," he spoke in a calm but firm voice, not even flinching under the menacing glare that the man gave him.

"Th' way I see it, it's none of yer damn business, now ain't it?" the ruffian spat back, seeming to think he could intimidate the other into backing off by speaking in a loud, threatening voice and towering over him. "This little urchin 'longs to me, fair 'n' square, so take yer mitts off me and go be on yer way."

"Well as I don't imagine anyone treating their own kin in such a manner, I can only assume that by "belongs to you', you mean in the sense of property." Edward returned, not the least bit intimidated by the oversized rogue.

"An' what if I do? There ain't no law against slaves or in how they're treated."

"Well, you'd be right about that," Edward chuckled dryly. "But the true man in me says I can't simply sit by and ignore such a pathetic display of cowardice."

"Is that so?" the man growled, his free hand going to a jagged cutlass strapped to his thigh. "Well if that be the case, then perhaps you'd like a nice long cutlass through yer gut, aye?"

"I should like no such thing, but if you insist, I might just have no choice but to defend myself, and trust me, you're not going to like how it ends." Edward warned in a promising tone.

Admittedly he was only half-prepared for the sudden swing that the man gave him without waring, it being enough to bloody his nose and make him stagger back somewhat. It took a second for him to shake off the pain and regain his bearings, and when he did he gave the man a look that promised swift retribution greater than any he might have been thinking about before the fool decided to punch him.

He couldn't help but laugh low and dark under his breath. "You know, I might have looked the other way when all was said and done before, but to your misfortune you've made this a little too personal to ignore now."

The big guy obviously wasn't at all intimidated by the smaller man, but that was going to quickly prove a mistake.

The punch he threw towards the other guy's face was feigned and he quickly reversed it and landed a sharp hook just under the man's ribs, stronger than the other was obviously expecting and made him partially double over as the breath was knocked from his body.

Edward didn't fail to notice the boy quickly dash off with a limp the second he was free of the big man's grasp, thinking that he would have to finish this up quick and catch up to the kid.

Though it was true he could probably just leave the brat to fend for himself after having helped him get free, he was sure the boy would need a doctor after that fall, especially since Edward had seen traces of blood on his lips. It was likely the kid had suffered internal bleeding after such a high drop into solid, packed earth.

He was forced to concentrate back on his fight again as the man lunged for him with his rusted cutlass drawn, nimbly dodging around the brute as he charged past following his swing.

With ease he kicked the man's backside and sent him careening forward towards a wall, quickly leaping forward to slam his head against the wall so that the man slumped to the ground, completely out cold.

He had half a mind to have disarmed the man of his blade and stab the idiotic son of a bitch, but there were plenty enough witnesses around to identify him to authorities for murder, so he left it at that.

"You're going to feel that one when you wake up," he snarked before whirling around and briskly walking in the direction he'd seen the boy run off.

He figured that he boy was probably too injured to limp very far, and he was right. Only about two blocks away he managed to find the kid huddled and well-hidden within a cluster of bushes hugging the wall of a large brick building. In fact he'd almost completely passed the boy up without noticing him tucked away.

At first the boy didn't move, watching him and waiting for him to leave, but seemed to realize he'd been spotted when the blond kept keen eyes locked on him, meeting his eyes.

He really didn't want to go wrestling through the bushes to reach the boy or have to chase him down, so kept his distance and decided to try and persuade the boy to come to him instead.

"You can come out now. That brute's out cold and I've no intention of harming you," he assured, though despite this the boy eyed him with obvious distrust and wariness. "If you're injured from that fall, I know where a doctor could be found."

The kid only continued to stare at him from afar. He had a tan complexion and light brown hair, maybe with a touch of reddish tint to it, but also striking blue eyes and three strange marks on both cheeks that reminded him of animal whiskers.

The clothing he had, robe-like attire with sleeves that widened significantly after the elbow, were something foreign in a style that he guessed to be Eastern World in origin.

"Why don't you come out of there?" the man suggested. When the boy still didn't move, not reacting at all to what he was saying, he motioned with his hand for the kid to step forward.

At first he seemed wary but then decided that maybe the guy wasn't out to get him. Not like those other men, at least.

He hesitantly moved out of the bushes but still kept a short distance, keeping his eyes trained on the older male carefully and seeming to try and figure him out, sizing him up.

Edward had to admit, he was kind of impressed. Pain was shining in the boy's blue eyes and he must have been significantly hurt after his fall from the roof, if the blood trailing from the corner of his mouth was any indication, but the kid was still making it a point to look defiant and tough in front of him. More impressive than that, he looked like he couldn't have been a day over seven years old; short, scrawny, not much weight to him at all.

"You are quite talented to be able to scale rooftops like you did," the young man commented as he likewise was watching the kid, wondering to himself who could've trained him to move around like that. "Do you have a name?"

Once again he was met with a silent stare, thinking that perhaps he was wasting his breath. The boy seemed to be foreign, so perhaps he couldn't understand.

"Do you know any English?" he questioned.

" _Omoi ga imiwonasanai yo,_ " the boy muttered under his breath in obvious frustration, continuing to offer up a challenging glare from beneath dirty bangs.

"I'll simply take that as a 'no'," Edward hummed, stepping forward slightly and kneeling at eye-level with the child, noticing how the much younger male tensed and intensified his glare. He was sure it was meant to be intimidating but it erred more on the side of cute and childishly petulant.

At any rate, he figured that maybe if he took things a little slow and patiently, perhaps he'd be able to garner a name at the very least.

"My name is Edward. _Ed-ward_. Do _you_ have a name?" He questioned, motioning to himself and then the boy. The kid immediately backed up when he motioned towards him, forming a deep scowl.

" _Oi! Wakarimasen, 'ttabeyo ne!_ " the boy snapped, seeming to have lost his patience and growing irritated.

Not having much patience for this himself, he once again waved to himself, looking at the kid with a touch of disapproval. "My name is Edward. _Edward_. You understand? _Ed-wa-rd_."

A look of hard concentration formed on the boy's face, his brows furrowing in thought before he repeated it somewhat clumsily. " _…Edo...…aado…?_ "

"No, not _Eduardo_ , _Edward_ ," the man corrected, knowing from the look that the kid gave him that he was only increasing his frustration. "Listen, like this, _Ed-wa-rd_."

" _Edo-aado,_ " the kid said again.

Edward sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking maybe this was going to be a little harder than he thought. "Okay, how about just _Ed_. Is _Ed_ any better?" He couldn't help but think that was a horrible shortening of his name. It didn't sound nearly as good as it's original, but he figured he could make do in this case.

" _Edo_?" the boy tilted his head in question.

With another sigh, he decided to simply relent on this one for now. "Good enough, I guess. And you?" He motioned to the boy now.

The kid looked uncertain and hummed, seeming to have at least caught on to what Edward was trying to get him to say, for which the man could only feel grateful at this point. At least he _hoped_ the kid had caught on.

" _Uzumaki…Naruto. Boku wa…Uzumaki Naruto, 'ttabeyo!_ "

"Uzumaki Naruto?" Edward repeated, thinking it an odd name. He'd been thinking that perhaps the kid was Chinese but it didn't sound like a name from that culture. Perhaps one of it's neighboring countries.

The boy gave a definitive nod and hummed in approval, seeming to be looking at him with curious interest now rather than hostile wariness, and wasn't going to as much of an effort to hide his injuries as before.

"I see. So, Edward, or…Ed-" he motioned to himself, then back at the boy. "Uzumaki."

" _Ie!_ " the boy snapped, puffing out his cheeks into a sort of pout of disapproval. " _Naruto yo, 'ttabeyo!_ "

Edward smirked slightly and reached a hand out deftly to ruffle the boy's hair, making him flinch at first since he obviously hadn't been expecting it.

"Naruto, then?" he questioned, the boy blinking up at him with a slight blush and a look that bordered between embarrassment and awkwardness, until a full grin stretched across his face.

" _Hai! Boku wa Naruto da, 'ttabeyo!_ "


	2. The Questionable Recruit

Edward couldn't help but frown even as he steered at the helm of the ship, not having to bother with watching his course since the seas were clear of other ships for as far as the eye could see, many miles of ocean.

His poor, newly named Jackdaw was only a week in being commandeered and already his poor little brig was limping along from a savage beating from a bloody Man-o'-War that had chased her near to the bottom of the sea off and on for nearly three days straight.

In the end it was only through tedious work of tactful and delicate steering through a narrow rock formation barely large enough for the little ship to squeeze through that had saved her from being sunk down to Davey Jones' and her crew with it.

It was truly nothing short of a miracle that they'd found that place to crawl through and escape, although it wasn't exactly an encounter he was going to want to talk to anyone about.

If they'd only had a full crew like he'd been planning on procuring it wouldn't have been such an ordeal but he figured it was simply best to live this round to fight another day.

In all likelihood he'd get his chance at meeting that damned ship again when he was more prepared, so for now he'd have to focus on getting repairs and strengthening his crew.

He wasn't exactly filled to his eyes with riches to pay fully on everything, so he was going to have to call in a favor from an old acquaintance of his from the privateering days that he was sure would come through for him.

He supposed it wasn't all bad though. He was in the market for a crew after all, and now that he got to thinking about that port town again, he also couldn't help but recall a particular person whose natural talents would be useful as a part of his crew.

Of course he could only hope that the person he was looking for was still in town, but he'd be damned if he didn't at least _try_ and find him.

No doubt the person he had in mind would be happy to see him as well.

* * *

"Not even inside yet and someone's started a party without us," Edward stated humorlessly as he watched the glass of a window shatter, the noise of other things crashing and breaking, as well as shouting, booming out of the hole now broken through the window.

The shape of bodies, people, could be seen moving about inside in shadows that appeared a writhing mess from their view, the few men accompanying him hanging back a little and seeming to wonder if they should enter or not.

It wasn't so much that any of them were scared, being hardened pirates used to the rigors of being outlaws and pursued toward death constantly, and certainly each and every one had seen their fair share of drunken brawls, but this wasn't really their brawl to join in on.

Hell, they didn't even know what it was about, though it seemed their leader had decided to go forward and enter the scene. Whether he was actually going to join in or simply be a bystander was entirely up in the air at this point, though they supposed they could only find out by following along and going with whatever came at them.

Pushing the wood door open, Edward's gaze moved about the room, a few of his followers filing in behind him, and keeping a sharp lookout for flying glass in case they needed to dodge out of the way.

A small group of people seemed to be scuffling, throwing fists and bottles, some having drawn weapons. It was hard to tell who was fighting who, but it appeared to be a larger number against a smaller few, by the looks of it.

Before more than a minute had passed, those fighting who hadn't already been knocked clean to the ground had joined their defeated partners on the floor, all but three.

One was quickly sent to the ground in an unconscious heap with a hard, airborne kick to the head from a smaller figure, before the remaining two caterwauled in defeat and scrambled for the door, shoving aside Edward and his newly acquired friends in their hurry to escape.

The victor, appearing to be only in his mid-teenage years, lifted his head up and bore a toothy snarl, intense blue eyes glaring heatedly at the retreating backs of the unfortunate souls who had just gotten a thorough beating.

"And don't come back! _'ttebayo_!" he hollered victoriously, his voice having an odd quality that was a small touch high-pitched but also a somewhat raspy growl.

The several people accompanying Edward seemed to be trying to figure out if this one kid was the one who managed to take out so many guys, since it appeared no one else had been up and fighting like he had, aside from those that were beaten down.

The deep-blue pools of his eyes shifted over to the group of pirates that had just entered, only now just noticing them, and admittedly a few of the men couldn't help but feel just a little intimidated by the intensity and ferocity of his gaze.

With a challenging scowl, the teen cracked his knuckles meaningfully at the various men and the one with the white hood shadowing his face.

"What? You guys want some too? You'd better not be here looking for trouble, cuz I'll pound you into the dirt," he threatening seriously, staring the whole group down without even a hint of fear or hesitation.

"No, I can assure you that you're among friends," Edward said, lowering the hood of his assassin's robe and stepping forward.

The boy hummed and cocked a brow at him, at first not seeming to recognize Edward at all before dawning a large, toothy grin at him.

"You're back! Man, has it been forever since I've seen you!" he declared, jogging forward and stopping just a couple feet away, folding his arms behind his head and looking almost giddy.

"And you've gotten taller since then," Edward couldn't help but point out, the boy looking a little sheepish under the comment.

"Hee hee hee, yeah, you noticed, huh?" the boy laughed, his voice boisterously loud and bordering just on the side of obnoxious. "I've been working on my skills too! I've got a lot to show you!"

"Well that's good, because I had something to discuss with you," Edward acknowledged.

"You know this boy?" Adéwalé questioned, gazing between Edward and the feisty adolescent.

"Yes, from some years ago. This is-"

Edward didn't even get the chance to finish as Naruto pushed past him and threw a thumb's-up straight into the large black man's face.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, _'ttabeyo!_ " he introduced with eager vigor.

"Adéwalé," the larger man returned, looking and sounding less than amused at the boy's invasion of his private space.

"Well, at any rate, why don't we sit somewhere a little off to the side. I'm sure we both have quite a bit to say," Edward proposed, Naruto eager to find them a seat off away from the others and flopping down, though still noticeably fidgety.

Edward couldn't help but notice that his height had grown a lot, and his orangy-brown hair looked longer and more unruly than ever, but also short enough to spike up slightly. The whisker-marks on his cheeks appeared somewhat darker and more noticeable than when he'd first known that young kid years ago.

Over his plain black shirt was a blazing orange and red coat that reached as low as his knees, with dark blue dyed leather trimming and several red fox tails hanging down from about waist-level from a belt attached to the exterior of the coat, and several earrings glistened dimly from both ears in the poorly lit tavern.

The kid had really grown up from that scrawny little brat, and was even looking like he was growing into someone quite formidable even at a glance.

"Well, down to business then," Edward said, not wanting to mince words and skipping straight to the point. "I'm gathering a new crew to sail the waters, and we need many people to help man the ship. I figured that the life of adventure at sea might appeal to you."

"Yeah…but I thought all that privateering stuff was over now with the war over and all," Naruto hummed, slitting his eyes and looking somewhat confused.

"This…isn't privateering that I'm talking about. No, I mean the life of plundering and marauding." Edward clarified, Naruto's eyes widening before he grinned.

"No way! You mean it? You're going into the pirate thing now?" he blurted out loud, not being the least bit mindful to keep his voice down. "That's so totally awesome!"

"Not one who knows how to keep his mouth shut, is he?" Adéwalé commented off-handedly, casually glancing about at some of the looks they received.

"Hey, I heard that!" Naruto piped, not seeming to like that comment too much. "I don't have to keep my voice down, ya know. I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm the strongest guy you'll find in this whole town, and probably all the ones around it too! _'ttabeyo!_ "

"Probably the loudest too," one of the others commented in a more hushed voice. "And what's a kid like this doing at a tavern anyway?"

An intense blue-eyed glare was quick to silence him.

"Hey! Everyone here totally welcomes me! I keep all the riff-raff out, like those jerks that were here earlier, ya know? Everyone here knows I deserve to be just as much as any of the other men that come in here. I'm tougher than any and all of them!"

"So…are you interested?" Edward prompted, drawing Naruto's attention back to him. The boy only grinned cheekily at him, beaming.

"Of course! How could I pass up something as exciting as that? Besides, then I'll get to show you all my super cool moves I've been working on, ya know?" he declared. "And- and instead of just coming back with stories to tell me, I can be there to see them myself instead too!"

"I guess that settles it then," Edward said, glancing up to Adéwalé before back to Naruto. "We'll be in port for a few days while our ship is being repaired. Once she's patched up, we'll be ready to set sail again."

"Awesome, I can't wait!" Naruto shouted, jumping up. "I'll just get my stuff together and then meet you guys there, okay?"

Without even waiting for an answer, he dashed off, shoes clunking on wood flooring and the door banging open as he vacated the tavern in a rush.

As soon as the boy was gone, it was Adéwalé's turn to talk to Edward, seeming somewhat disbelieving about what had just transpired.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to have a boy like that join us? He seems to me the type that would only bring trouble where he goes, and not terribly bright either."

"He has some qualities that make him seem like a questionable choice, I'll admit," Edward admitted, motioning towards the bar keep for an order of drink, not even caring what it was at this moment. "But you haven't seen the kinds of things that boy can do, and all I know is what I've seen from five years ago. I'm interested in seeing what kinds of surprises he can bring to us since then."

He offered up a nod as a woman brought by a large mug of rum, taking a long swig back before he set his cup on the table again, leveling a gaze on his makeshift crew of freed pirates.

"But more importantly than that, I want to see some of the surprises he can bring to our enemies."


	3. Welcome Aboard

"Whoa-oo," Naruto awed, gazing up the mast of the ship as it stretched way above. "This is a nice ship."

"You like her?" Edward tossed out, this being less of a question than he worded it as.

"It's cool, though it's a little smaller than I first imagined it'd be," Naruto said honestly.

"Well she's not the largest ship in the sea, but she suits my purposes just fine as she is," Edward said as he walked along the deck and up to the helm. "I've named her the _Jackdaw_."

" _Jackdaw_ , huh?" Naruto hummed before slitting his eyes and tilting his head to the side as he questioned in an incredulous tone, "Isn't that the name of some kind of bird?"

"Aye, it is. Why? Do you have a problem with that?"

Naruto turned rigid and held his hands up in a placating manner, flailing a bit. "P-problem? N-no, there's no problem! It's an awesome name!"

"I'm glad you think so," Edward nodded his approval, Naruto discreetly letting out a sigh of relief before hopping over to his side.

"So what are you planning to do from here?" Naruto couldn't help but ask, both a little excited and apprehensive. Admittedly it had taken a bit of hardening of nerves for the boy to even step foot on the ship, the only other time he'd been on a sea vessel being the one that had kidnapped him from his homeland and landed him here in the first place.

"Well, our initial plan had been to sail to Nassau, and island much further south of here, but we were driven off-course by a pursuing Man-O'-War that heavily damaged our ship. You know the shipwright in this harbor, Jonathan Malconnam?"

Naruto nodded as he gazed at Edward with rapt attention.

"Well let's just say he owed me a favor or two from the privateering days, which worked out nicely on account that we didn't have either the necessary provisions or profit to pay for repairs."

"Well that's a lucky break. So what do you have to do in this Nassau place? Are you still going there?"

"Aye. There are a few associates of mine there that I'd like to have a word with. While we're there, it wouldn't hurt to increase our crew number as well."

"You don't have enough guys here already?" Naruto questioned, gazing about at the men busily milling about the deck. It seemed to him that they had quite a few people already.

"It takes quite a number to man a ship, some of the largest ships can take more than three-hundred to sail. The _Jackdaw_ isn't terribly large by comparison, but as a brig, she's still a considerable ship to handle, and it's guaranteed that we'll lose people along the way at some point with the dangers of the sea and pirating."

"I see…" Naruto hummed, looking thoughtful before grinning up at Edward. "So what about me? What do I get to do?"

"Well, until you get your full bearings with the ship and find your best use, you'll be a cabin boy."

Naruto blinked in question. "And…what does a cabin boy do?"

"Basically you serve whatever roles for extra, minor tasks are still left unattended by others of the crew, help with things like cooking and serving food to the men, bring messages across the ship, or whatever other small tasks are asked of you."

Naruto couldn't help but give the guy a disbelieving glare.

"Puh! Cabin boy my foot. More like _errand_ boy. Can't you give me anything more exciting than that? I mean, I've got way more skills to put to use than playing delivery pigeon! I've probably got more skills than any other man on this ship!"

"Then prove it by doing a good job and maybe you'll earn yourself a promotion," Edward told him pointedly.

The teen narrowed his eyes belligerently. "Y'know you've got one Hell of a nasty way with reunions that really leads a guy to regret asking to come aboard your ship."

"Well no one forced you to join us, lad," Edward laughed, not seeming the list bit sorry. "We're still at port so you can always leave whenever you want to."

Naruto hummed and looked bordering conflicted and angry, the corner of his eye twitching in irritation.

"…mmmm…grrr…alright, I'll do it for now. All I gotta do is prove myself for a promotion, right? Piece of cake! I guarantee you, you haven't seen _hard work_ until you've seen _me_ in action! Better watch out, cuz maybe someday you'll be referring to _me_ as captain!" he boasted pridefully, grinning.

"I'll have to keep a sharp eye out for that day, but it won't be this one," Edward returned. "Now, get to it. Those decks need swabbing."

With a determined look in his eye, the boy offered a mock salute, declaring, "Ye'sir!" before he was quickly off to do his task.

* * *

"Man…who would've guessed swabbing the deck was really that hard. It took me all day! I never want to see another holystone or scrub brush or bucket of salt water ever again."

Even as Naruto grumbled these complaints he couldn't help but massage his shoulder just shy of the juncture in his neck, his muscles certainly having gotten a hard workout. It was definitely a good thing he wasn't someone who got seasick often, because he had enough to clean up already as it was.

Even as he descended the steps below deck, he couldn't help but yearn for a soft pillow and a bed.

"Naruto!"

He paused and glanced to the side, the figure that had called out to him being the ship's black Quartermaster. Adéwalé acknowledged him with a toothy smile and a wave.

"Why don't you come join us for a drink? You've earned it this day."

"I'm not really fond of alcohol and rum, sorry," Naruto hummed disinterestedly, folding his arms behind his head and stifling a slight yawn. "And I'm underage anyway. So unless you've got something like water or juice then I'm just gonna pass on this one."

"Well you should probably learn to at least tolerate rum pretty soon then. Fresh water and other such drinks go foul within days aboard a ship, and you can't substitute them with salt water," the older man informed.

Naruto scowled unhappily, shifting his weight to one leg.

"Would've been nice if someone told me that _before_ I got on-board," the teen grumbled.

Adé only chuckled slightly in that deep baritone of his, slapping a hand on the kid's shoulder.

"Well even if you don't share a drink, you must have worked up quiet an appetite. The chef is cooking up a meal for the crew as we speak."

That caused the boy to visibly brighten and nod his head.

"Now that's one thing I can agree on. Man, I was so focused on crashing to sleep I completely forgot about food!" he piped even as he spun to follow Adé to the various tables where other crew members sat, and others sung some drunken, off-beat tune.

An empty chair beckoned for the boy to take the weight off his tired feet and he couldn't help let out a sigh as he sunk back against the rickety wood.

He also couldn't help but notice several ship-mates seemed to have taken an interest in him, making the boy a small touch self-conscious, as Adé occupied another chair at the same table.

"So, from where do you hail?" Adéwalé questioned curiously, taking a swig from a mug that sat on the table in front of him.

"Um…I don't actually know…" Naruto admitted with a slight blush. "I was pretty young, back when I lived in my home country." Adé only hummed in acknowledgment. "So, uh, what about you guys?"

"Trinidad," Adé answered simply. He heard several other mixed replies from others gathered around, some that he didn't recognize, some that he did from the Colonies, and some that were repeated.

Naruto hummed before his blue eyes wandered about, noticing as he did that Edward wasn't present.

"So what about Edo?"

" _Edo_?" Adéwalé repeated, Naruto catching a brief flash of confusion in his eyes. "You mean Edward, our Captain?"

"Yeah, him."

Another man laughed aloud. "Haven't ever heard him called that before, or anyone named Edward for that matter."

"Why, is there something wrong with it?" Naruto questioned, perplexed.

"No, nothing _wrong_ with it per se, I've just never heard it. Most people shorten it to Ed, not Edward."

Naruto grumped slightly.

"Well we didn't have ending sounds like that in my country's language, okay? _Bakana yatsu!_ " He stuck his tongue out.

"Hey! And just what does that mean?" the man questioned in an accusatory tone, giving Naruto a dirty look as he seemed to try and figure out what he'd said.

Naruto only bore a mischievous grin.

" _Suisoku suru koto wa kesshite naidarou, ne_? Hehehehe."

The man growled slightly in the back of his throat but, seeing as he had no idea what the boy had even said, had no idea how to reply.

"What language is that that you're speaking?" Adé couldn't help but question curiously.

" _Nihongo_. That's what the people back in my country call it anyway," Naruto said with a slight shrug.

"I have never heard of it."

"Yeah, you and everyone else I've talked to," Naruto mumbled. "Anyway, this Nassau place…how far away is it?"

"Taking into account stopping for rest and assuming the winds are favorable, it will take us about a week to reach, give or take," Adé informed him, Naruto groaning slightly under his breath.

" _That_ long? Just how far away is this place?"

"It's about a thousand miles south of us."

"That's a long ways," Naruto hummed, trying to picture how far that could be. He couldn't seem to get a clear idea in his head. Just how long was a thousand miles? A lot more than he could count, that was for sure.

"Indeed," Adé agreed. "After a while aboard a ship though, you'll learn to get used to it as fairly normal."

Naruto might have responded further, but that was when the chef decided to appear, serving up bowls of food at each other tables.

The boy's eyes lit up and his stomach immediately rumbled at the very thought and smell of food. Of course it didn't look like the most appetizing bowl of food he'd ever laid eyes on but it hardly dissuaded him at this point, feeling half-starved after all he'd done earlier.

"Alright, chow down!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to actually Google a bunch of different stuff and do my own calculations to figure out an accurate time-frame for how long it'd take them to reach Nassau for Adé's response in this chapter |D And it was still a bit of a guess. It was kind of a pain in the arse!
> 
> Not the most exciting chapter I've written but I think it serves the purpose X3


	4. Recruiting

In the approximate week of sailing it had taken to cross the sea as Adéwalé had predicted, Naruto had never felt so glad to set foot on dry land again.

As soon as the ship halted just off the shore, the brunette leapt off the bowsprit and into the water, clawing his way out of the water and flopped onto his back in the hot sand, ignoring the sun beating down on his eyelids.

"Man, I never thought I'd miss sand this much," he sort-of giggled to himself.

He was soon joined by Edward, Adé, and a few other men splashing ashore.

"Aye, a sight for sore eyes," Edward mused. "And much preferred to the colder north."

"A little hot if you ask me," Naruto disagreed, before standing up and dusting himself off, shrugging slightly. "Eh, but it could be worse I guess. Anyway, you said you were here to meet some people, right?"

"That's right," Edward confirmed with a small nod. "And I have a decent idea of where we'll find them too," he added as he started up the shore, leading the way. Naruto and Adé fell in step behind him.

The town was bustling with people of all kinds. The ones that Naruto could identify immediately were the British soldiers in their bright red coats. Others were dressed in various manners, though most dirty and sun-bleached clothing.

Any buildings appeared to be of shabby quality, with haphazard boards and siding, paint that was either bleached or crusting off, and vines snaking up the sides. On a few building sides hung British flags.

All of the paths through town were dusty packed dirt, but none were paved or stone-work like some of the settlements up north.

_Man, this place is kind of a dump, isn't it?_ the boy mused to himself as he followed the two men.

They headed up a flight of rickety stairs where a sign hung that simply read _Tavern_ , no actual name to it, though on an island he supposed names didn't matter like they did in the northern colonies and big cities like New York or Boston.

Crude music and the voice of a woman singing could be heard across the deck as they made their way up to the bar, several men sitting around at tables drinking.

_"A soldier lad came here last night, with riding he was weary. A soldier lad came here last night and the moon was shining clearly-"_

"By God, you're a sight for salty eyes!" a man called to the trio – more specifically, Edward – over the railing of the bar, beneath the shade of a portico. "Come you in and have a drink!"

"Morning all," Edward greeted curtly.

"Ahoy, Kenway," another man greeted roughly, meeting him from the bar with an extended mug of drink for him, his eyes briefly surveying the other two following him. "Who're these two?"

"Adéwalé, the _Jackdaw's_ Quartermaster," Edward introduced with a hand on the aforementioned's shoulder, and then directing with his head at the boy. "And this Lad here is Naruto, a cabin boy." When the brunette teen shot him a dirty look, he added as an afterthought, "for now, at least."

" _Jackdaw_?" the second man at the bar repeated, his tone disbelieving before he started to laugh. "You named your brig after a poxy bird?"

With a slight note of exasperation, Edward gazed between his crewmates and the two at the bar.

"Adé, Naruto, these Lads are our growing confederacy here. Ed Thatch," he directed at the second man who had greeted them. "Ben Hornigold," he directed at the first, then past them at a smaller figure sitting at a table behind them, causing Naruto to stand on his toes to see past them. "James Kidd."

Adéwalé only briefly gave them a look over before turning his attention to the bar, Ben taking the opportunity to lean in Edwards direction.

"You let him carry a Pistol, do ye?" the man snarked, giving Adé an obvious look of distrust.

"Peace, Ben," Edward cautioned with a look of warning. "Adé saved my life, and now we're looking to find a crew to fill out the rest of my ship."

"Well, there's scores of capable men about, but use caution. A shipload of the King's sailors showed up a fortnight back, causing trouble and knocking about like they own the place," Thatch warned somberly.

"Right," Edward nodded, his eyes scanning the street with brows furrowed. "I'll see who I can muster."

"Hey, you're gonna let me come too, right?" Naruto piped in, leaning over the rail at Edwards side and just about hopping at the chance to do something.

Edward cracked the faintest smirk at the boy's childish enthusiasm. The years had done nothing to damper that part of his personality, it seemed.

"I see no harm in it, so long as you can keep pace."

"Heh, funny, that sounds like something that should be _my_ line! I'm not exactly slow, _'ttabeyo_!"

"Well, let's get a move on then, shall we?" Edward announced as he took the lead, Adé stepping away from the bar and casting Ben a last glare as he followed Edward and Naruto.

"Send any men you find to the _Jackdaw_. I'll put them to work," Adé told him as he turned towards the shore, exchanging a quick glance with Edward.

"Cheers, Ádé," Edward returned before they parted ways, Naruto following along closely at his side. "Alright, first things first, we have to locate where these men can be found."

"And how are we gonna do that?" Naruto questioned aloud.

As they walked amongst the crowd, keeping an eye out, Edward spied a row of guards standing to block the way to a church building up on the hill, as well as a pair of soldiers with guns aimed at tied prisoners.

"I'd say that's our first bet," he said in a quiet voice, continuing down the street. "We'll have to find a way around them though, otherwise those soldiers will execute those men the second they hear a commotion."

Naruto only hummed to signify that he's heard, following along until they'd circled to the other side, which appeared unguarded and ducked into a cluster of bushes.

"Okay, so what now?"

"Simple, we're going to walk right up behind them and surprise them."

"Will that work? I mean, without those guys over there getting shot first?"

"So long as we be careful to be quiet in our approach, it should," Edward nodded. "We'll both take one each. Once we start a fight though, others will come running. Once we have the two gun-men off of those prisoners there, I'll fight the reinforcements while you untie them, alright?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "I got ya."

"Good. Let's go, then," Edward announced, coming out of the bushes and making an approach around the far side until they were behind the two, Naruto following suite.

Once they were close enough, both simultaneously leapt forward, knocking the soldiers' aim in a different directly so any fired bullets didn't hit their two captives.

The pair briefly wrestled against either man, with Edward ending his opponent rather quickly with a brutal slash across his throat, the man collapsing as he choked blood. Naruto had a little more trouble, but before long he'd knocked the guy into the dirt too with a blow to the abdomen, out cold with a following kick to the head.

There were several shouts and footfalls of British soldiers running towards them, Edward drawing either of his cutlasses from his belt.

"Get those men untied!" the blond ordered, Naruto nodding his head. He scrambled to get the knots loose even as the clashing of blades and shouts of pain met his ears as well as the scent of blood.

By the time he had all four men freed, Edward had already taken care of the soldiers, the ground littered in six or seven bodies.

"Wow, you're pretty good," Naruto marveled, blue eyes briefly surveying the carnage.

"Well I'm not terrible, at any rate. We should probably get going though. We don't want to get caught at the center of this, lest we end up in any unnecessary fights."

Naruto only nodded as Edward led the way ahead of him, blue eyes watching a few people who nervously skittered away down the street, having been witness to the fight, he was sure.

"At any rate, we'll probably be able to cover more ground if we part ways," Edward said, stopping for a moment and looking at Naruto in an appraising manner. "You think you can handle yourself?"

"Of course I can, no problem!" Naruto was quick to defend, looking determined. "You can count on me to get the job done!"

"Alright, then I'll take this side of town," Edward said, directing with a sweep of his hand to the parts he had decided to check over. "You'll take the other area over that way. Between the two of us, we should be done relatively quickly."

Naruto only nodded his agreement, taking off before Edward had even said a parting.

"Just you wait! I'll be done and back to the ship long before you!" he called over his shoulder, causing Edward to roll his eyes in exasperation.

_Well, he gets points for determination, anyway._

As Naruto ran down the street, he heard the sound of clashing metal and almost blew right by the alley where several redcoats and regularly-dressed men were fighting, skidding to a stop and readying himself.

_Alright, time to show I'm cut out for this!_

He ran forward with a battle-cry and delivered a kick to one soldier's backside, sending him sprawling forward into the dirt before Naruto himself fell into a low fighting stance.

"Hey! Why don't you try taking _me_ on instead!" he uttered a challenge, flashing a cocky smile and quickly drawing the attention of three soldiers on him.

The fact that he was just a boy by comparison of the men that had been their targets just a moment ago didn't seem to faze them at all, lunging towards him with their blades.

The man obviously hadn't been expecting much of the teen, because he missed almost ridiculously so as the boy nimbly leapt out of the way, delivering a hard punch to the side of the man's head, before kicking him in the side just under the ribs.

He ducked away from another who slashed at him with a gleaming sabre several times, until it planted itself into a wood beam and became stuck, the teen using the moment to his advantage to attack the guy without remorse, knocking him out as well now.

The man that he'd knocked over only about a minute earlier grabbed him from behind, the boy struggling to escape his grasp.

When he saw another man taking aim towards him with a pistol, he maneuvered so he could bite the man holding him, hearing a bark of pain with satisfaction even as he managed to escape and whirl the man around to take the bullet for him.

At this point, he pushed the still-upright corpse over and got the jump on the man with the pistol, kicking him between the legs so the guy doubled over, putting him at perfect height to kick him in the head to the ground with little effort.

Naruto took a few seconds to catch his breath before grinning, feeling a rush of victory.

At this point, the men that had previously been the soldiers' targets approached him, extending a hand.

"You came at a good time. Thank you."

Naruto returned their handshake with a beaming but slightly sheepish smile.

"Nah, it was no big deal. You guys are pirates or something, right?" he guessed, skipping straight to the point, and tactlessly so.

The men exchanged an awkward glance but didn't say anything to confirm it, though the looks they bore were enough of an answer.

"Hey, if you guys really want to thank someone, my captain is looking for guys to join his crew. He owns this ship sitting just off the shore called the _Jackdaw_. It'd be awesome if you could join us!"

Once again, the men exchanged a glance, but they seemed less tense this time.

"After almost losing our skins, sounds as good a chance as any," they seemed to agree, offering up another thanks for good measure before heading towards shore.

"One down, a bunch more to go," Naruto mused to himself, making off to find more people.

* * *

Naruto had managed to save a few more men from the cold steel of redcoat blades and send them off to recruit themselves to Edward's ship when he spied a growing crowd up on the hill near the island fort.

He lifted a hand to shield the sun from his eyes and squinted, perched in a crouch on one of the building rooftops.

"And just what's going on over there?" he hummed curiously, before realizing and hopping down. "Looks like a hanging's about to happen. I guess that probably counts as a potential recruit too."

It wasn't as if he'd never seen a hanging before. If there was one thing he undoubtedly _knew_ about redcoats, it was that they _loved_ to make an example out of criminals and, especially, pirates. Sometimes they left the corpses to hang until their bodies literally just rotted off the rope, the body one day simply detaching and falling from the head. Some people occasionally cut them down, but most were halted before they ever could, a few who attempted to do so even punished.

He jogged up the path to slip amongst the crowd, blue eyes focused forward and craning to get a better view.

"This _pirate_ bares the blood of many innocents on his hands! His Majesty's honorable representative has decreed the sentence shall be… to hang, by the neck, until dead!" a man dressed in a British officer's uniform declared publicly from the deck of the gallows. Naruto was already digging through one of his belt pockets for his throwing knife, heavy in the blade and light in the handle, with a round hoop at the end.

"If I wasn't strung up, I'd gut you like a pig! My lads will find you though!" the man standing with a noose around his neck spat, figuratively and literally. The officer wrinkled his nose at the man and motioned to one of the other soldiers, who pulled the lever to drop the floor.

They were surprised when the man dropped… all the way to the floor below, leaving a frayed, severed rope edge just above where the noose used to be. Before the officer even had time to demand what happened and how the rope snapped, a knife came whizzing by his head and sliced part of his face, the man jerking the opposite way instinctively.

The crowd of onlookers scattered, sensing the coming trouble, so that only Naruto stood there now, twirling the knife around by a wire through the pommel-hoop, smirking at them.

"Sorry, did I interrupt something?" the teen quipped, watching as the officer clutched the profusely bleeding slash to his face and glared fury at him.

"Get that boy!" he snarled, the confused soldiers jumping to follow orders.

Naruto crouched as he waited for them to approach, grasping the blade that he had been spinning around a moment before and lunging forward towards the first man, knocking him back onto the ground and digging the blade into his throat.

While he was doing that, a second soldier ran towards him and swung a sword, Naruto leaping back off the guy choking on his own blood and back flipping to his hands and then back to his feet, grinning in excitement.

"Gonna have to be quicker than that!" Naruto taunted, pouncing lightly on the balls of his feet as he waited for one of them to make another move. Two of them charged in at once and he dodged around the idiots nimbly, spinning out through the space between them and kicking one in the rear so that he was sent sprawling forward. The other one he lassoed with the wire of his throwing knife, just in time to spot a soldier taking aim, and using the man as a human shield to take the bullet for him.

He tried to pull the wire loose as the other had recovered and was charging at his back, but the wire wouldn't budge, having gotten somewhat tangled.

"Darn it! _Now?!_ " he hissed, quickly trying to dislodge it and failing. He ducked back as a sword came too close to dicing him and tripped in a tangle of limbs with the corpse of the soldier he'd used to shield himself from gunfire a moment earlier, his pulse picking up as the blade arced down towards him.

He didn't need to dodge or block it however as another blade swooped in to his defense, Edward appearing and trading blows, backing the soldier away from him, until the man finally managed to sink his own weapon through the soldier's gut and savagely twist it.

"You alright, lad?" Edward called over his shoulder as he kicked the dying man off the end of his blade. Naruto quickly nodded and stood, deciding he'd just have to untangle his weapon after the fight was done.

"Yeah, I'm just fine," he returned as he stood, retrieving one of the soldiers' blades. It would have to do for now. "Not that I _needed_ the help, but I'm not complaining!"

Edward smirked cynically as they both turned to face the remaining two enemies. "Well from where I was standing, it looked like you needed it."

"Ha! Not on your life! I'm a natural at this kind of thing, _'tabbeyo_!" the teen rebuked.

"So, then… one for each of us?" Edward proposed with a thin grin. Naruto nodded and leapt forward, taking the nearest soldier while Edward took the officer on. Within half a minute, both had finished them off, left with a small pile of bodies dressed in red and one deep blue surrounding them.

Satisfied, Edward sheathed his blades and went to untie the man that had come within a hairs breadth of being hanged.

"A moment more…and I would've…" the man began to rasp as he stood, rubbing his neck wryly, before he nodded to them both in appreciation. "Well done. How can I repay you?"

"Well," Edward began crisply, patting him firmly on the shoulder. "Since you mentioned it, I'm in the area looking for a crew to help man my ship, and we'd be glad to have you." He turned and pointed to the bay below. "She's the ship you'd be manning, a nice little brig by the name _Jackdaw_." He turned his attention back to the man inquiringly. "Interested?"

"Aye. I'd be interested," he nodded. Edward smiled.

"Good, then welcome aboard. My quartermaster, Adéwalé, will be waiting aboard to give you instructions on what to do."

The man nodded and turned away, starting to walk. Naruto had finally managed to get his wire and throwing knife loose, tucking it away safely at his belt.

"Ma-n, we made those guys look like total chumps!" Naruto boasted happily, already well recovered from almost getting cut in half. Edward nodded in agreed approval.

"You certainly held your own out there. You fight well." Naruto beamed happily.

"So does this mean I can stop being your _cabin boy_?" the brunette probed hopefully.

"Perhaps, before long," Edward said, chuckling at the childish, impatient pout the boy gave him. Edward's eyes wandered up the wall of the nearby fortress, seeing soldiers milling about and coming closer. He planted a hand on Naruto's shoulder and steered him away. "But we'll talk of that later. I think it's best we move from this area for now."

* * *

"Now you'll want to sail somewhere rich with Plunder," Ben said as they stepped away from the tavern bar with drink. Edward nodded, his eyes inquiring.

"Have you heard of a place called the Observatory?"

"Aye," James cut in, turning away from the bar towards them. "It's an old legend, like El Dorado, or the Fountain of Youth."

Edward eyed him, Naruto looking between them curiously as he listened.

"What have you heard?"

"It's meant to be a Temple or a Tomb, hiding a treasure of some kind."

"That's it," Edward said with a hint more interest, pulling parchment from the folds of his clothes and holding it out. Naruto craned upward to see it curiously. It had drawings of some sort that looked like a whole bunch of circles… maybe rings, surrounding each other, steadily getting bigger around each other. "You see here."

James took it and stared in contemplation, while Thatch rolled his eyes.

"Oh, rot. It's Fairy Tales you prefer to gold, is it?"

"It's worth more than gold, Thatch," Edward stated decisively, looking wistful. "Ten thousand times above what we could pull off any Spanish ship."

Ben huffed laughter under his breath.

"Robbing the King to pay his paupers is how we earn our keep here, lad. That ain't a fortune, it's a fantasy."

Edward only glared and turned away, snatching the paper back away from James and tucking it into hiding back in his coat. James only smirked in a pitying sort of way and gave him a brief pat on the shoulder, returning to the bar. Edward headed away at that point, Naruto following at his heels as they took to the streets towards the beach-front instead.

"Um... if it's any consolation, I don't think it's stupid," he piped in after some while of uncomfortable silence, the tavern well behind them now. "I'd be happy to help you find this Observatory thing! I mean it can't be _that_ hard, right?"

Edward smirked, though he certainly had doubts it would be anything easy.

"Well, I don't suppose I could argue you out of that enthusiasm even had I wanted to," he laughed lightly. Naruto laughed back, folding his arms behind his head.

"Nope! Not even if you tried your damnedest!"


	5. Julien du Casse

The sway of the ship and constant creak of wooden boards had become nothing but faint background noise easily ignored, joined at times by the sliding or rolling of objects not tied down well enough, or the hiss of a wave that reached over the side. What had become equally familiar was the dull hum of flame off the braziers below deck, the gentle swing of hammocks, and snores or grumbles of sleeping sailors.

Hammocks were not his favorite sleeping accommodation, but he made do with what was thrown his way, whether it be a sword fight or uncomfortable rope-woven beds.

Suffice to say, he wasn't soundly asleep. He'd learned - a little unhappily - that sleep was somewhat of a rare commodity aboard seafaring ships. Two hours was most common, sometimes three or four if everyone was lucky enough. The only time sleep came for greater lengths was when they were at port, and that was less often then when they were out at sea.

Not a man aboard didn't have at least _slight_ bags beneath their eyes, and the occasional brawl over risen tempers or a basic misunderstanding were not uncommon by the pure reason of sleep deprivation making most aboard the _Jackdaw_ grumpy. Each incident was considered nothing to worry over so long as blades remained undrawn and no one was thrown overboard to drown or be devoured by the larger sea-life, bruises worn more as badges of honor than marks of shame, proof that they could hold their own in a fight and go about business as normal afterwards just fine.

Hardly any slept deeply at all. Everyone slept with an ear open, some with an eye as well, ready for command to rouse and man the ship if a storm came their way, whether it be the weather itself or another enemy ship.

His nose had grown duller to the scents of seawater, alcohol, gunpowder, wood, and sweat. He hardly noticed them anymore after only a couple of weeks. Standing out against them more prominently was a smell he thought he might know, but it was lost to memory, taunting him from just beyond the periphery of reminiscence.

He determined it was nothing that was dangerous to him or any on the ship, but somehow he knew it was something he shouldn't be smelling out at sea. He thought harder, trying to recall what he knew of that smell. The image of a shack and fences came to mind... of feathers and hay and eggs. He remembered the deep red splatterings most of all, though the coppery scent was absent this time. It was only the stronger musk that his nose detected. Then he recalled what it was.

 _"What is that smell?"_ he had asked the first time he'd smelled it, wrinkling his nose in distaste. It was overpowering, not quite as strong as a skunk's spray, but darn close to it.

_"What else do you think? It was a damn fox, come to steal off with my hens! You never forget the stench once you know it."_

"...but there are no hens here," Naruto mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Could a fox really have stolen aboard their ship? There wouldn't be much for it to take, if so, and he didn't think it would have gone unnoticed, even if only for the strong smell alone. Besides, foxes were not a welcomed species among people. A cat climbing aboard would have made more sense.

He glanced around, wondering if anyone else had noticed, but no one stirred. Half-lidded blue eyes wandered the cabin, and stopped dead on a spot where a wisp of flame crackled on the floorboards. He roused to greater alertness and gasped as he threw his legs over the side of his hammock and leapt down, stomping on it with his foot.

He yelped as the flame bit his foot with its heat and leapt back, before the flame did something abnormal, almost seeming to _leap_ from where it was around him and grow in size and take on a shape, before seeming to vanish mysteriously into the darkness of the room. He squinted, letting his eyes readjust, and he thought he saw something _moving_ , a shape about the size of a cat or a small dog, but lankier.

Light caught its eyes and he abruptly held his breath as they appeared to burn red, like two small flames contained in orbs of glass.

For a long while, all they did was stand and stare at each other, before the fox turned and darted to the other side of the cabin and up the stairs. Something Naruto couldn't quite explain drew him forwards, giving chase up the steps and onto the deck.

He immediately raised his arms to shield his face from a blast of wind and rain, squinting his eyes shut as he shuffled further onto the deck. When he opened them, he gasped aloud.

As far as the eye could see, the sky was dark, yet the ocean was red and orange, turned to flame that didn't burn. The clouds were the exact opposite of white, black smoke that choked out the sun, moon, and stars like what he imagined from Christian tales of Hell. Waterspouts... no, _fire_ spouts swirled and danced from flame-sea-to-sky, writhing angrily through the flickering waves. Exactly nine of them, though the significance of this detail was lost to him.

He was frozen to where he stood as a particularly monstrous wave of flames rose from the rest and surged forward over the bow, two long tendrils slamming down onto the railings on either side of him. His eyes widened further as the wave of flame took on the shape of open jaws and fangs, eyes burning redder than the rest of its body, and he recognized it as a fox, larger than any whale he had ever seen.

It snarled at him, the firespouts whipping about more chaotically than ever, and like a clap of equally titanic thunder, it _roared_ , and eyes he had thought already seeing snapped open into darkness.

His heart hammered in his chest and he abruptly sat up, regretting it a moment later as his hammock spun and tossed him against the floorboards, panting and confused. The ship churned and groaned back and forth, and he leapt to his feet and ran up to the deck, expecting flame.

He was greeted by dark clouds, sky, and... ocean so deep blue it almost appeared black. No flaming sea. No monster fox.

He sighed aloud. "Only a dream..." he murmured, admittedly relieved.

A crack of lightning and booming thunder above made him wince and almost throw himself to the deck, the roar of that _monster_ still fresh in his mind and making him look about frantically in case his nightmares might come to life. He forced himself to calm and turned to look up at the helm, where Edward, Ade, and Thatch stood, making his brows furrow in confusion.

He ran up the steps and appeared at their side, giving Edward a look of question.

"Cap'n?"

"Good evening, Lad," Edward greeted, though his eyes remained focused forward. "I see you've decided to rejoin the waking world."

Naruto nodded, but he was still curious as to what was happening. Storms were nothing new to the seas, but Thatch's presence was what led him to suspect something was happening and that they were braving the seas during such risky weather for a reason.

"Are we goin' somewhere important?"

Adewale tapped him on the shoulder and handed over a spyglass, pointing out ahead of them to where he wanted Naruto to look. "You see that? A Spanish Galleon. Thatch believes we should take her on, and steal her guns to build up defense around Nassau."

Naruto's eyes widened as he spotted it, a ship that was at least three times the size of their own Jackdaw and heavily gunned, looking between the Quartermaster and Thatch.

"That ship's a monster. Look at the size of her!" Ade said, voicing the same thoughts Naruto was having.

"Aye, and we won't last long face-to-face with 'er. Kenway, keep yer distance," Thatch warned. "We'll strike when fortune favors us."

"Under the cover of darkness, most likely," Edward mused.

"Aye, it may come to tha'."

"Naruto, lad. Help man the sails," Edward directed. The boy looked all-serious and nodded.

"Aye-aye, Captain!" he assured, leaping down the deck and onto the rat-lines, climbing up nimbly as if he'd been doing it all his life.

"Just be careful!" Ade warned. "You do not wish to fall overboard in a storm such as this!"

"I know! I know!" Naruto barked, sounding mildly annoyed by the cautioning words.

It was only a few moments before Edward's first orders came, calling out over the squall, "Trim some yards off the wind!"

"Right!" Naruto called back unnecessarily as he helped the others perched on the mast and on deck below pull the cloths to half-sail and secure them. By now he was already soaked from head-to-toe, clothing hanging more heavily and hair plastered to his face with a drizzle of rivulets dripping off his brow and nose. He was entirely used to the subtler pitching of the decks, but the masts had much more stomach-testing movements, pitching too and fro enough to raise the hairs on the back of his head in alarm on occasion as it felt almost like he would be tossed aside.

Flashes of lightning made the entire sky go white briefly, making the ship ahead appear more visible, then cast back into darkness as the lightning and thunder paused only briefly.

Naruto shook the droplets out of his eyes and heard another order from Edward.

"Crowd on every inch of sail!"

He and the others worked fast to undo the ropes and let the sails down fully, though the wind was determined to push them sideways. He clung to the mast and looked out oversea, another loud clap announcing a flash of lighting that struck the mast of a smaller ship in the distance, lighting it up like a bonfire. The mere sight and knowledge that one stray bolt could do that to _them_ sent shivers down his spine, eyeing the clouds warily.

Three other ships to the left of their ship were crowding too close, threatening to spot them and open fire, but they soon crawled away from easy view as they continued to tail the Man O' War. Edward ordered half-sails again, and almost as soon as they were up and secured, back to full sail as the Galleon began to turn, coming far too close to seeing them. They sailed straight past her rear sides until they were effectively behind them, then drew the sails up once again to maneuver back to following at her rear.

"Man... up, down, up, down... make up your damn mind already..." Naruto grumbled under his breath, eyeing Edward somewhat unhappily, though the man was too focused on the targeted ship to see him or hear his quiet complaints.

They crept out of the storm and into clear skies, the sun on the horizon painting it blue, white, and orange. The fiery hues made him inwardly shiver, and he turned his attention away from the sky and back to his task.

He perked as another ship appeared on the horizon, one that appeared to be heading straight in to intercept their Man O' War target. He heard Thatch and Edward discussing something, but most of it was lost to his ears, straining to hear.

"...wouldn't say he's a friend of mine, but he's been doing this line of work for a long time, so I can't help but respect him."

Naruto's eyes widened further as he saw the Man O' War turn and both ships open fire at each other as Edward ordered the _Jackdaw_ to full sail. One of the smaller ships already went down before they were near enough to join in the fight.

There were explosions from the Man O' War, and someone yelled in warning, "Mortars!"

Edward sharply turned away from the path of the flaming projectiles in the sky, ordering "Half-sail!" to turn more sharply away.

They charged along behind the enemy's ship, firing into her backside where windows to the cabin and planks of wood shattered and splintered off. Mortars came flying in from above, and they barely avoided all but a few of the flaming cannonballs.

"Give her a taste of her own medicine!" Edward called. "Fire mortars!"

Naruto watched in awe as they turned their own skyward, wide-barreled cannons up and aimed them, opening fire into the sky and hitting the front half of the galleon successfully. Attention soon shifted to a fleet of smaller schooners that came to the larger ships aid, and they were forced to shift focus.

They dispatched the small schooners with ease, blasting them with cannonballs and then targeting the weak-points where they were already taking on water with swivel guns, sending them to the deep.

The Man O' War managed to put a good deal of distance between them and slip away, barely visible beyond the mists. Edward stepped away from the wheel and handed it over to Ade, and Naruto took it as a fine enough opportunity to relax a little, letting his limbs dangle over either side of the mast with a sigh.

Edward raised a spyglass to gauge distance and direction of the ship, before motioning. "She's sailing for that island."

"I know the place," Thatch mused, taking the spyglass back. "A natural stronghold used by a French captain named Du Casse."

"Julian du Casse?" Edward exclaimed, looking surprised. "The Templar?"

Naruto perked his head.

_Templar?_

"Name's right. Didn't know he had a title," Thatch mused, looking at Edward in interest of this newfound information.

"I know the man, and if he sees my ship, he'll know it from his time in Havana," Edward said, looking unhappy. "Meaning he may wonder at who's sailing her now. I can't risk that."

"And I don't want to lose that Galleon," Thatch growled, giving Edward a pointed glare. "Let's think on it," he proposed, giving Edward a pat on the shoulder, stepping down the stairs from the helm. "...and maybe wait 'til its darker before hopping aboard."

They sailed a while yet around the far east side of the island, stopping to drop anchor just off the side of a smaller island - little more than a sand-bar, really - and wait for the day to wear on towards night. The rain and storms returned, waterspouts swirling to life out at sea, some passing so close that they could hear and feel the roar of the churning wind.

Naruto visibly shuddered in nervousness when one grew too close, but shrugged it off as nothing when asked if he was alright, unable to help but recall his dream.

Really though, what was there to be worried about over a dream? Superstition aside, it wasn't as though such monsters were real. He had yet to see any, and what he had heard of such things from sailors and storytellers was patchy in consistency at best.

Ghosts, he was more likely to believe in and fear, but monsters as great in size as whales? Surely they would see such creatures more often if such tales were true.

It was simply his imagination overreacting, so there was no need to mention it.

They sailed again when the storm fully passed and dusk soon approached, sailing to the southwest for an isolated cove where some bleach-white stone structures were visible. They stopped the ship there, hidden from open water's easy view, and Edward stalked down the deck and hopped onto the rampart, turning to face his crew.

"Gentleman! As is custom among our kind, we do not plunge headlong into folly on the orders of a single madman, but act according to our own collective madness!" he addressed, earning a small chorus of agreeing chuckles and sniggers. "The object of our attention is a square-rigged galleon, and we want her for the advantage she'll bring Nassau. So I'll put it to the vote. All in favor of storming this cove and taking this ship, stomp and shout _Aye!"_

He was met with many pairs of stomping feets and shouted "Aye!" 's.

"Those who oppose... whimper _Nay_."

There was nothing but silence, though some had not strongly agreed enough to shout aye earlier, likewise they were neither strongly against it. He nodded his satisfaction and hopped down, walking back towards the helm, where Thatch leaned against the rail at the foot of the stairs.

"Never was the King's council so unified," he jabbed with a satisfied smirk.

Edward went about checking his gear briefly to step ashore, and as he was doing so, Naruto appeared at his side.

"I'm going to get to come along too, right?"

"I think it is best for you to stay here," Edward advised, which soon became evident as the exact opposite of what he should have said, according to the boy's own opinion.

"But I can handle this! I want to go along too!"

Edward opened his mouth to tell him to stay put, but after a moment he shut it, reconsidering. He _had_ brought the boy along with his crew because he wanted to see how useful his skills would prove. This was that time to put him to the test, if ever there was one, and he had already shown of his great climbing skills on the ratlines and mast earlier.

"Very well," he decided, giving the boy a brief pat on the arm. "Try and keep up," he told him, before turning and running to leap off the deck and dive into the water.

Naruto only grinned and bolted after him. When they reached the shore, it was to the overgrown structure of white stone, with no clear way up, other than perhaps climbing. He gazed up at the height of the structure in wonder, which could put any tower in the city colonies up north to shame quite easily. He paused and glanced behind him, noting that it was only them two.

"Aren't the others coming?"

"For now, it's just us. It will be easier to go unnoticed that way. Ade and the crew will regroup with us in the bay where we will secure the galleon."

"Wouldn't it be easier to take them all out as a group, though?" Naruto tilted his head, not quite understanding.

"It isn't quite that simple. If those aboard the ship see a large group coming, they may open fire on us while we're ashore, or they may flee and escape," Edward explained. "Ade will be sure to steer them around the island, and cut off the harbor if need be. Besides, I need to _take care_ of someone, and it would be best he not see me coming beforehand. The less people go, the easier it will be to sneak up on them."

Naruto nodded to show he'd understood, then Edward motioned him ahead.

"After you, _if_ you think you can handle it."

"Of course, no problem!" Naruto boasted, though he eyed the structure with slightly less certainty than his words implied and a bit of calculation on where to start.

"Oh, and if you see anyone about who might become a problem," Edward added as he climbed the first ledge. "Try to stay out of conflict, if you can. That would be best."

Naruto nodded, and began his ascent, climbing up rock walls and fingers hooking ledges like a squirrel on a tree, heaving himself up onto the first ledge, and leaping across wood beams to reach the next highest place, and up a clumsy wall of branches woven together to support a platform further up. A bridge of ropes and branches gave way as the boy tried to cross it, and after one he tried to grab broke, he managed to snag the last and keep from falling enough distance that the fall would at least maim if not kill.

Edward silently had to admit he was holding his breath for a moment in panic, but the light brunette recovered well enough on his own and began to climb without needing assistance.

The next part required swinging from a few overhanging wood supports to another wood bridge of which the ropes had broken before they had arrived, scaling up those and up another wall of wood planks.

Both were somewhat strained by the climb once they reached the top, but thankfully nothing but iguanas awaited them, and they were free to waltz into the jungle beyond, on a narrow path probably made by both wildlife and humans alike and birds chirped and sang quite flamboyantly in the trees.

The first soldier they came across, dressed in a yellow coat and tricorn hat, was just around the bend, marching back and forth, and forcing the two to duck into thick bushes when the person's back was turned and they were a fair distance away.

Edward swiftly took care of him with a hidden blade and dragged the corpse into the bush, well out of sight, and they moved on down the path, being careful not to go too quickly and in-the-open lest they find more.

Indeed there were more ahead, but there were alternate routes that went unguarded and made it easy enough for them to slip around for a short while. When the path went various directions once more, they were forced to pause and wait for a soldier to march by, before darting into the bushes and peering out to decide their next move. They jumped the soldier as he marched by again, dispatching him the same as the first, then continued on, taking out a third who had their back turned and attention focused in the wrong place.

It was easy enough getting by the soldiers, who were inattentive and sloppy in false belief that there was nothing but perhaps wild animals to be watching for. Mostly, Edward let Naruto lead and decide, only occasionally giving a whistle or a hiss to indicate a direction that was better suited to their task without confrontation.

After swinging beneath a fallen log, overgrown by vines and smaller trees, their path opened into sharp cliffs and great leaps to further reach their destination, where short bridges had broken and left them with no alternative but to jump across.

Edward would expect any man to be at least slightly intimidated at the prospect, especially after eyeing the fall should they fail, but Naruto tackled it fearlessly, almost to the point of pure idiocy. It was on one crag after climbing a limp hanging, half-broken bridge that they paused, seeing the bay just beyond the jungle further out, and a glimpse of the galleon they were after, flying red-and-gold Spanish flags, its siding striped in white and dark grey.

They had to continue through the jungle first before reaching it, but it went as easy and simply as before, using the trees to their advantage, gaining height over the path in case they saw more soldiers they could drop down on from above.

There weren't any until further in, past a triangular arch of natural stone, and this time there were many in a single place, common soldiers and stronger brutes alike.

They decided it better to avoid a possible fight, and instead used the bushes and trees to sneak by instead, though Naruto was a little more reluctant than Edward.

There were shambled village huts further in, and more soldiers. Gunmen, perched higher up and having a better vantage. They were forced to move about more carefully to avoid being spotted, and it took much longer than they had originally planned for, but they managed to slip by, sneaking in a few kills when they could pick off an unsuspecting soldier to make things a bit easier.

The path beyond was clear all the way until the jungle's exist, where it opened up into a town of shacks inhabited by more soldiers.

Edward took charge at that point, taking to the rooftop of the nearest building after killing off some of the guards.

They had an unobstructed vantage point over the entire town and the harbor, and most importantly, the Galleon that was docked there. They took out more guards as needed and slunk around the far side of the town, using bushes, trees, and stones as cover wherever they found them. He opted that going about the rear of the ship and scaling up it would be the best approach to keep from being spotted before they wanted to be.

They scaled up the length of a fallen tree and leapt across to several others until they reached a cliff side that led back towards the bay, though well away from the eyes of any look-outs, and dove into the water, swimming beneath the waves until they reached the ship.

Naruto couldn't help but marvel at it, noting that there were cannons only barely above the level of the waves, and all the way up the back of it until just below the captain's cabin.

"Man, when they say these ships are armed to the teeth, they aren't joking!" he whispered, Edward nodding.

"There's a reason these ships are feared, and good reason for us to take her as our own, too. But first, we have something to take care of before we can do that." Pausing, he corrected, "or rather, some _one_."

They waited for the waves to swell a bit and grasped a ledge, heaving themselves up it with little more than their arms, since their was not much they could use as a foothold to boost them up. It was difficult, but both of them managed to pull themselves up until they could climb properly with all four limbs.

Hanging just beneath the back rampart, Edward reached up and grabbed a soldier standing near the edge, lodging his hidden-blade into the man's gut at the same time pulling him overboard and into the water.

They both looked over the railing, making sure no one was looking or walking their way, before hopping over and sprinting as quietly as possible to the thick mast and climbing up it, hiding amongst the sails and peering down from above. Luckily, thanks to their black-caped captain walking about shouting at everyone to prepare the riggings, rest, and eat as quickly as possible, no one heard their movements or looked their way.

Edward eyed the man with a dark look in his eye, crouched on the arm of the mast with a clearly preparatory tenseness to leap, waiting patiently for the man to walk back around and beneath where they were perched. When the man was almost directly below, he dropped off the edge and bared his hidden blade, and the man only looked up just in time for Edward to hit his mark as intended.

The men aboard the ship startled and at first scattered in surprise and confusion, before coming back to attack him. Naruto leapt down next on top of them, scattering them once again in confusion. Both he and Edward quickly subdued them, managing to keep it quiet enough that others besides those on the top deck from hearing the chaos and coming.

It was at that point Edward turned back towards du Casse, who sputtered as his off-white shirt soaked red.

"You remember the gift you gave me?" Edward snarked, sounding far too smug. "Well it answers just fine."

" _Fils de pute!_ " du Casse spat, reaching up and seizing Edward by the front of his shirt, though it was ineffective as threatening considering he couldn't fully stand back on his feet, his glare twisted by pain. "As bold as a musket ball, and still half as sharp!"

Edward merely rolled his eyes and shoved the man off, letting him fall on his back, gasping.

"I'm sorry about this, Mate," Edward hummed, circling around him in total nonchalance. "But I can't risk you telling your Templar friends about me still kicking around."

Du Casse sneered. "I pity you, _B_ _oucanier_. After all you have seen, after all we showed you of our Order, still you embrace the life of an ignorant and aimless rogue!"

Clearly Edward was hardly listening, leaning down to snatch a coin on a cord from Du Casse's neck and examining it with interested appraisal.

"What's this...?"

Du Casse's face twisted from pain into utter disgust.

"Is petty larceny the extent of your ambition? Have you no mind to comprehend the scope of ours? All the empires on Earth, abolished! A free and open world, without _parasites_ like you!" Du Casse spat, before sputtering into bloody coughing. " _Que l'enfer que tu trouveras soit le fruit de ton insouciance_."

The man's eyes rolled back and his body went limp, breath ceasing. Edward's disregard for his corpse was instant, perhaps even slightly pleased with himself at Du Casse's demise.

"Um... Captain?" Naruto began, drawing his attention. "Who... are the Templars?"

"Old acquaintances of mine, you could say," Edward hummed, cleaning the blood from his blades. "Though we had something of a falling out, and they tried to put me in chains aboard a ship. That was where I met Adewale, and we both escaped, freed some other men, and stole away with my new ship. They are how I found out about the Observatory. Beyond that, I don't know much, other than I'm sure they'd like to see me dead at the bottom of the sea, but those are all the things I need to know."

Naruto merely nodded as Edward stepped to the side of the ship, waving to his mates aboard the Jackdaw as they pulled their ship further into harbor.

"The cove is ours!" he shouted, greeted by a chorus of cheers and caterwauls of victory, soon enough the pirates storming up the shore and capturing or killing whatever soldiers remained of Du Casse's crew.


	6. Assassins and Templars

After getting rid of Du Casse, Edward ended up claiming the entire island for his pirate confederacy, a perfect place as far as he was concerned with a ship dock already built, buildings for homes and businesses, even a manor up on the hill, though it had fallen into disrepair.

They went exploring the jungle with James Kidd, finding some odd human-made pillars overgrown by moss and lichen. Edward called them _Aztec or Mayan_. Naruto needed some explanation that they were once a culture of peoples that inhabited the nearby jungle-strewn continent and islands, now all but entirely extinct, as far as everyone knew.

James went on to ask Edward to help him solve a puzzle, from atop one of the pillars that was more detailed than the others, talking of extending the five senses all at once. Edward said something about knowing what James was speaking of, that it was like "Seeing sounds and hearing shapes". James explained that everyone had the capability Edward spoke of, some who needed extensive training and time to tease out, others who had it available to them all along, tapping into it the same way most breathed, doing it with little thought to the matter.

Digging up something beneath a stone in the earth, they found an odd piece of treasure, worthless on its own - according to James - but leading to something "grand".

Afterwards - with Naruto feeling confused and out of the loop - they delved further into the jungle, James speaking of wanting to show them something else.

Where they went was a cave, winding deep through the earth, with only the occasional hole in the ceiling above letting sunlight in to light the way where they could navigate by. Eventually it led to a staircase leading up into the interior of the shambled manor they had seen up on the hill earlier, though the inside was much nicer, decorated in fine wood flooring, rugs, and decorative pieces.

Behind an iron gate with many locks appeared to be a skeleton dressed in gear that Edward couldn't help admiring, a key that he'd taken off Du Casse earlier unlocking one of five mechanisms on it.

"That's one. Only four left."

James appeared more interested in a map on the desk, examining it critically. "Aye. It might be that these four Templars have them. See the names here?" Edward and Naruto joined her, looking over the map. James pointed to red X's marked on it. "They've been sent to kill these four targets."

Edward's brows furrowed as he leaned over it, a glimmer of recognition in his eyes.

"Hang me. That's the map I sold to Governor Torres in Havana." Naruto didn't fail to notice James narrow his eyes slightly at Edward as he said this. "He said it marked the location of `Assassin` encampments."

James nodded slightly with pursed lips, looking as if he was toying with a thought, though there was a harsh light in his eyes Naruto didn't quite understand. "You think maybe you owe them a bit of warning then?" he proposed abruptly, though Naruto wasn't sure why the young man thought that assassins deserved warning. "If you have any kind of heart in that beating chest?"

"S'pose I could," Edward said, smirking in amusement of such a proposal. He straightened up. "If it leads me to the other four keys."

James frowned and turned to walk away, tossing a glance over his shoulder that was far from happy. "A bad excuse is better than none at all."

Some time after that was spent exploring the house, though Naruto quickly grew bored with it. Most of the place was covered in dust, and there was nothing worth seeing beyond tables, chairs, and couches. Typical things found in many homes and not worth his attention. Edward still seemed invested in checking the place out though, so he left the older man to wander off, back down towards the town.

Just as he reached the gates to the property, wood doors hinged to a crumbling stone wall propped to either side, James was leaning against it in wait, regarding him through dark eyes.

"Naruto, was it?" he questioned, before twitching his head towards the path the younger male was already set upon. "Walk with me."

The auburn-brunette tilted his head slightly and jogged to catch up, walking at the other's side. "What's up?"

"Well I haven't really seen you around much. Haven't gotten to know you. Where do you come from?"

"From up north, in the colonies, mostly."

"An' before that?" James prompted, making the boy blink.

"I'm... not really sure. I was taken away from my old country pretty young."

"If I had to guess, I'd say you're probably southeast-Asian. Maybe Chinese or one of those other countries near it," James mused, eyeing him carefully. When Naruto looked both surprised and confused, he added, "It's a place way across the seas, to the east of here. All the way on the other side of the world, I hear. I've never been there myself, but I've met some of the sailors that come from that way. You look a lot like they do, though I've never met one with blue eyes before, an' most of 'em have much darker hair than yours. Black, usually."

"I think I might have heard some things about it once or twice," Naruto hummed, trying to recall, though all he drew was a blank. "But I never thought much of it."

"So how'd you end up in Kenway's crew?"

"When I was younger, I tried to escape these guys that took me away from my home on their ship, and I ended up in Boston," Naruto explained. "Edo helped me when I was being chased down, and beat the guy unconscious, before helping find me a doctor. I stuck around him for a few weeks, and saw him once more after that when he returned to port on a ship he was on. After that, I didn't see him until just a couple months ago when he recruited me while his ship was being repaired."

Jamed hummed, looking mildly surprised. "So the man has somewhat of a conscience after all," he kidded sarcastically. "What do you think of him?"

"Um... well he's cool, and has a lot of awesome skills. He's fearless and daring. And he's giving me a chance to prove myself to him, too! If I stick with him, I'll probably have the chance to really make something of myself, _'ttabeyo!_ "

James hummed again, but didn't seem to share Naruto's views.

"You don't seem to like him much, though," Naruto noticed, tilting his head. "By the way, what are these Templars I keep hearing about?"

"The Templar's are an Order of individuals with a goal," James stated, seeming to have lost a little bit of his earlier displeasure at the question. "They claim to seek creating a perfect world through order and control, even if it means forcing their will on others to accomplish it, for the betterment of mankind. Throughout history, they've had a hand in aiding the creating of great military forces and bloodshed, all in the name of this purpose. Their greatest enemy is the Assassin Order, who defy them in order to maintain the free will of all people. The two have been at war for centuries."

"I've never even heard of them before now," Naruto marveled, not sure what to think. After a moment, recalling the earlier discussion between Edward and James in the manor, he added, "So, does that mean that you're on the side of the assassins?"

Omission was the answer he received, but it was enough to at least make him strongly suspect he hit the nail on the head.

"Which side to you agree with? Going off of a superficial jab, anyway," James questioned abruptly, though Naruto had to tilt his head in confusion at the language.

"Can you phrase it a little simpler for me?"

James stopped walking and turned to face him. "Going off what I told you, which side do you agree with? The Templars, or the Assassins?"

Naruto crossed his arms and tilted his head up, pondering that. "We-ll... I have to admit, the idea of a perfect world sounds nice, but what's the point in that if no one even has the free will to enjoy it? I mean, isn't that almost like slavery? Its hard to say though..."

It seemed enough of an answer, James looking approving and perhaps even slightly relieved, and they began to walk again. "Well if you enjoy your freedom, then I can already guess the Templar order isn't one that'll appeal to you."

"Most likely not," Naruto agreed. "Though I don't know about these Assassin guys either..."

"Well, if you grow an interest, you may gain the opportunity later on. Talk to me again, next we meet, and perhaps you can learn enough to decide for yourself what path best suits you," James offered as they reached the docks. He walked up the gangplank to his own ship sitting in the harbor - a schooner about half the size of Edward's _Jackdaw_ \- and glanced down the docks towards where they saw Edward approaching at a comfortable walk.

"Leaving already?" he called to James, as the young man's crew went about preparing the ship to sail.

"I think this cove suits you best, Edward. Better than that costume does," James returned, eyeing his white robes up and down for good measure.

"Oh, come on, now," Edward replied. "We're pirates, Kidd. We take as we please and become who we like," he said, spreading his arms apart as if to show off his attire proudly, thinking nothing of it, though the expression on James' face clearly said he disagreed. "Self-made Men!"

"But that look ain't you," James corrected, frowning, as he propped a foot up on a crate, resting an arm over his knee. "It's not who you are."

"Who am I, then?" Edward challenged, looking genuinely baffled to the meaning of James' words. At the very least, Naruto felt a little glad he wasn't the only one who lacked knowledge of such significance.

"Hard to tell some days," James deadpanned, pushing off the crate and crossing his arms as he straightened properly. "All I know is, you like dangerous prizes."

"Like the Observatory," Edward immediately leapt to, pacing the dock idly as James' ship sails were unfurled and it began to pull out of port. "I think you know more about that than you let on in Nassau."

"You noticed that, did'ja?" James rebuked, walking towards the back of the ship to stay within ear-shot, up until there was no more deck to walk without leaving the small ship. "Meet me at twenty degrees, three minutes latitude, just off the coast of Yucatan. I'll have something to show you there in a few weeks time." James promised, before glancing to Naruto. "Either one of you."


	7. Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted

Once they took some time to settle in and get acquainted with the island known as Great Inagua, making plans for cleaning it up later and figuring out who fit where and owned what parts of it - and have some proper rest that was so infrequent otherwise - the crew was ready to set out to sea once more. That was about a week and a half after they first took it from the Templar, Du Casse.

They sailed out of the cove and headed west, stopping for whatever purpose seemed good reason and raiding ships along the way as they found them. Mostly it was schooners and small gunboats. On occasion they went toe-to-toe with another brig, and even a frigate at one point.

They fished and whaled when the opportunity presented itself, and Naruto could say in full confidence that harpooning a live, furious hammerhead shark in nothing but a dingy fit for four people at most was both one of the most exhilarating and terrifying experiences of his life, hands down.

They docked for some time in Salt Key Bank when a small hurricane hit, an island settlement with a complex network of cliff-strewn boardwalks and grass-roofed shacks as houses. Naruto was glad to be out of the storm, his mind conjuring far too many images of shipwrecks and lightning strikes, but also impatient to reach the rendezvous point where Kidd had spoken of showing them something. Edward was somewhat restless over it as well, but he was far less vocal and hid it better than the boy did.

Just as he had already begun to forget his nightmares of the monster fox, the storm brought dreams of it back to haunt him, making what hours of sleep he managed to get unrestful at best.

There was at least an inlet where water cascaded down from a waterfall, allowing for a proper bath, something that was all but nonexistent out at sea, rainfall and the occasional high wave not counting. He wasn't the only one taking advantage of it, and it turned out to be just the distraction he needed anyway to forget the demon plaguing his nights.

Naruto couldn't be happier once the storm passed. His nightmares left him, and they were able to sail out again without fear of getting swept into a funnel cloud and carried off or ripped apart by the fast, swirling winds.

The day after was spent dealing with pirate hunters and raiding a plantation warehouse of its spoils and freeing prisoners of those plantations where they could. It was a touchy, covert job that required as much blade-work as it did dodging conflict, going about disabling alarm bells and dragging guards into the brush to have their throats slashed or get a knife through the torso.

Afterwards, they made port in Havana, before sailing further south, past a sea-side fortress that didn't take kindly to them even passing through. Just beyond was a beach where they weighed anchor, the place where Kidd had told them to rendezvous, though there was no sign of him nor any ships that may have belonged to him.

The went ashore and climbed the cracks of a wall up to a higher cliff, and Edward hissed for them to duck into hiding when he saw figures patrolling the same cliff top just ahead of them, wearing the same hooded white robes.

"Those must be the assassins that James talked about," Naruto mused, whispering. Edward gave him a look that was slightly startled.

"What did James tell you?" he probed, this being news to him.

"Not much," Naruto admitted. "Just that they and the Templars are sworn enemies, and I think he might be one of them." He paused, giving Edward a critical look. "Plus, he seemed to recognize those clothes you're wearing, and didn't like you wearing 'em. I had a lot of time to think on it, and I figured that that must be what they wear, now that I see them."

"Well I did lift it off of an assassin who was going to turn to the Templar's side," Edward admitted. "At any rate, I'm not sure we're entirely welcome, though at least I might blend a little more. You, on the other hand..." Edward glanced over Naruto's red coat.

"Well, maybe if we just _talk_ to them. If they're friends of James-"

"We don't know that," Edward pointed out, keeping his tone hushed. "And until we do, we should tread carefully. We'll take them out quietly." When he saw the look of disapproval on Naruto's face, he added, "I mean, we'll knock them out. I don't plan to dirty my blades if I don't have to, and if what you say is true, I don't think our friend James would like us too much afterwards."

Naruto nodded his agreement, and they moved forward, hiding in the bushes and jumping the two on the cliff to knock out and drop unconscious into the brush. Edward went to have a look from an old mast resting against the cliff from a wrecked ship, carefully examining the terrain and taking count of how many robed figures they had to deal with, as well as hoping he might spot James nearby.

They moved further inland after he determined James was not on the immediate shore, knocking out as many as they could quietly from the bushes and around blind spots, where trees or rocks obstructed the view. At one point they heard whisperings of a ship coming and going, talk of Templar's and how strange it was that they heard no raucous yet or had anyone storming the beach, but they became suspicious, which made moving about more difficult, though not impossible. If nothing is, it proved that the robed figures truly were of the Assassin order.

One path was blocked by four of the assassins, making it impossible to get through without drawing attention, so they found another alternate way, a path at the other side of the beach marked with more white stone ruins.

That way took them into the jungles, and they were careful about each corner they rounded, using the foliage as cover while they determined where the assassins were before proceeding. There were quite a lot of them on the forest floor, and both Edward and Naruto used the trees to their advantage, crawling and leaping over thick branches. It proved an effective means of sneaking over and around them without being spotted, surprisingly enough, though likely any noise was probably assumed to be monkeys or birds.

They were almost caught once, as they were trying to slip through two pillars into another path, but managed to hide and avoid being discovered by the skin of their teeth. Edward chose to blame the boy's flashy red coat most of all. Naruto chose to blame that they opted to not knock out any more of them at that point of their mission.

Further in, they took out several more, though neither had settled on agreeing to the cause of almost being caught earlier, and heard some talk in a language lost to both their knowledge of what was said. Likely it was unimportant anyway.

They almost rushed to leap over several branches too quickly to see a look-out armed with a pistol on the far cliff, but managed to stop themselves just in time and wait until the person was turned away so as not to see them, then leap across and duck into the bushes.

"I am beginning to think that James is nowhere near here," Edward wondered beneath his breath, even as he looked about carefully to spot the lad anywhere within the ruins or natural landscape.

Naruto hummed less certainty, then almost yelped aloud in discovery and tapped Edward on the shoulder, pointing.

"There!"

Edward squinted, seeing a figure standing in front of a door by a white square pyramid partially obstructed by the jungle, before nodding. "Aye, that's him! Good eyes, lad."

Naruto silently beamed at the praise and they crept around the far side of the path through the woods, until they could reach James unobstructed.

"Jesus, Kidd! You've led us into a mess!"

"I did say I had a secret to share, but I didn't say it'd be easy. Now let's get this door open and I'll show you what's inside."

James turned around, pressing a protruding piece into the door, which looked more like a mural of Mayan creation than a door. The sound of scraping stone and wood became audible, like turning clockwork, and the door slid up and revealed a passage beyond. Edward's eyes gleamed with piqued interest.

"Ah! We're onto something. I can feel it."

Naruto hopped up the steps, just waiting for James to take the lead, but paused and glanced back as he caught motion in his peripheral vision. Edward seemed to catch the flick of his eyes and sense the movement behind him, drawing one of the guns from his belt and whipping around just as the words _Captain Kenway_ left the figure's lips, though the approaching figure was prepared and twisted his arm to keep from being shot, earning a growl of pain from Edward, and shoving him a few feet away.

Edward whirled on them, going to attack, and Naruto instinctively reached for his throwing knives and wire, but James stepped between them and put a hand up to either side to quell a fight breaking out.

"Where is the Assassin, Duncan Walpole?"

Naruto took his while to take in the appearance of the newcomer, an older man dressed in brown robes stitched from leather, with a blood-red and white sash about his middle, scant pieces of metal armor on his shoulder and neck, and a face painted with bands of black, white, and grey from the cheekbones upward.

"Dead and buried," Edward spat with disdain, before adding more nonchalantly in his own defense, "-after he tried to kill me."

"We are not sorry to see him gone," the brown-robed man told him plainly. "-but it was you who carried out his final betrayal. Why?"

Naruto glanced between them, not sure what this `betrayal` the man spoke of was. Edward seemed to know, and gave a noncommittal shrug.

"Money was my only aim."

"Should I find comfort in that?" the other man snarled in demand, stepping forward until their faces were nearly touching, appearing almost as if bearing his fangs.

Naruto closed a hand around one of his blades, but didn't draw it. James seemed to catch the motion and shook his head in advisement against the action, though the brunette didn't relax yet.

"You murdered our brothers and sisters in Havana!"

There was a moment of remembrance that crossed Edward's face as he looked away to the side, looking for a moment like a guilty child.

"He has the Sense, Mentor," James cut in suddenly.

The man paused and leaned back slightly, blinking and pursing his lips in blindsided surprise. Tense silence fell for many moments, stepping back further. "James tells me you treated with the Templars there. Did you see the man they call The Sage?"

Edward looked to James, then back again. "Aye."

"Would you recognize his face if you saw it again?"

"I reckon so..." Edward hummed quietly, unusually somber.

The man looked between Edward and James. "I must be certain."

James caught the look and nodded, understanding.

"Not a word," James warned when Edward gave him an accusing look. "Come on."

They headed underground down dark stairways, Edward questioning the entire way, with Naruto throwing a few of his own in. The man above was explained to be James' Assassin Mentor, Tabei. Finally they had some confirmation that James was a part of the Assassin Order.

"So you're all part of some daffy religion?" Edward snarked.

"We have a Creed, Aye, but it does not command us to act or submit... only to be wise."

"Oh do tell. I'd love to hear it," Edward said, sarcastic.

"Um, I would too!" Naruto added, a little more sincerely as they swung across wood beams like monkey bars as the ruins progressively turned more like natural caves and passages the deeper they went.

" _Nothing is True. Everything is Permitted,_ " James recited. "This is the world's only certainty.

" _Everything_ is permitted?" Edward repeated, sounding more genuinely interested now rather than sarcastic. "I like the sound of that. Thinking what I like, and acting how I please."

"You parrot the words, but you do not understand them," James harped in exasperation.

"Don't get haughty with me, Kidd! I followed you as a friend, and you tricked me," Edward snapped unhappily.

"I saved your skin bringing you here," Kidd corrected. "These men wanted you dead for what you did in Havana. I talked 'em out of it."

"Well, cheers for that," Edward conceded reluctantly.

"Aye," James returned mirthlessly, almost sneering, "Cheers."

"What did you do in Havana?" Naruto questioned as they slid down a steep slope further in. "I mean, besides the obvious of what they say."

"When the Templars captured and were moving the one they call The Sage, the Assassins came to take him from them. Since I was with them at the time, I helped fight them off, and had to get my blade a bit dirty," Edward defended.

Naruto merely hummed and continued to follow.

Further in, Edward and Naruto were forced to scale the walls and shimmy across after an old, rickety bridge broke under Kidd's feet, with the man himself barely leaping across to safety. There was a door beyond that, with large stone blocks - one red and the other blue - suspended against the wall needing to both be pulled down to open the doors, which were otherwise sealed tight.

The temple became more man-made than natural again, and Naruto couldn't help but marvel in passing as the elaborate stonework, especially those that formed the heads or forms of creatures that oddly reminded him of dragons.

They reached a room with a gaping pit, and the only warning James gave was "Jump!" before he dove headfirst down it to a deep spring below. Naruto eyed the sharp rocks at the bottom, but he jumped without complaint and with a touch less hesitance than Edward did. Beyond that, they swam through entirely submerged caves, surfacing where there were pockets of air before continuing onward.

Once they reached a grand chamber and drew in breath once more, Edward bitched and moaned about how there had better be treasure worth his troubles at the end. James' words implied that there was no monetary treasure ahead, but something that he promised would make their heads spin in shock. Edward seemed less believing or in awe of such a promise, but Naruto was certainly highly curious to learn what it was.

They climbed a steep wall of ledges and carved figures, startling some bats into flight, and climbed a flight of stairs to where a ring divided into three colors and more large blocks sat in the center of each colored band.

"Is this it, then? The grand prize your Mentor asked me to see?" Edward harped, while Naruto looked at it closely, figuring that there was some deliberate purpose to the device, which had a turn-wheel in the center. "Looks nothing like the man they call The Sage, I'm sorry to say."

"Keep your trousers tied up. We've one more riddle to solve," James snarked in both assurance and mockery all at once. "These statues are like the ones we've seen before, but with pictures carved on them."

Naruto nodded as he examined the colored ring.

Over the green was marked with golden illustrations of fish, serpents on red, and monkeys on blue. The large blocks themselves, one for each color - though the blue block rested over red, and red over green, while the green block was elevated like the earlier ones used to open one of the doors - almost seemed to resemble square heads and jaws, each with different pairs of teeth.

When he looked at the color-corresponding blocks though, they didn't appear to be the same animals. The red one almost appeared to have a hooked face, like an eagle. The green he would say was probably a crocodile, were he to guess, with many serrated teeth. The last blue one appeared to be either canine or feline.

"There's pictures carved on the floor as well, but not of the same sort."

"There's a correspondence then, but what...?" James prompted, though he sounded more as if he was leading the train of thought than wondering himself. "There's a difference between the animals on the statues and them on the floor. Do you see it?"

"Aye. One group is predators, the other is prey."

"Which predator goes with which prey? That's the question."

"Right, there's your correspondence."

Naruto merely crossed his arms and hummed. Seemed simple enough. Hopefully the colors corresponded as well. For a riddle, it was rather easy. Idiot-proof, even, were Naruto to have any say in it, considering he wasn't terribly great with such things, yet he had already figured they simply needed to match the colors somehow. Moving the blocks was more the trick than anything.

Edward went to turn the wheel, but Naruto stopped him.

"Hold on, if we need to match these up, then I think we're already in position to move one of the stones."

Edward paused, glancing over at the blue one resting against the wall where there was a gap, exact opposite of the lifted green one. Naruto glanced over at the side with the green one, then back at his own side, noticing that there seemed to be a counter-weighted stone. On the side with the green, there was an identical one on ground level suspending it.

"If we can get this stone to move down, maybe the animal head will lift up?"

"Aye, probably the same as the ones earlier. Our own weight should be enough to tip the balance," James nodded, watching both of them carefully.

Naruto nodded and scaled up the wall, climbing up onto the stone, which slid to the ground under him while elevating the blue animal head block.

"It worked!"

"Good lad," Edward praised. "Now lets see if we can't move this wheel and put these blocks in their proper places."

They turned the wheel until they had lined up the blue block and section of the ring, and immediately the back wall, carved with a mural of a face, slid open to reveal another behind it that was a faded red, with golden eyes and a snarling expression. Triumphant, but not finished, they continued with the other blocks. The second one revealed a less stylized and more realistic face formed of golden-looking stone with its eyes closed.

When the last block was placed, that too parted and slid away to reveal another face behind it, this time made of moss-green stone with its eyes open, an exact replica of realism, to the point that it was almost creepy. Especially the eyes, in Naruto's own opinion, one that was gold and the other blue.

Edward's eyes widened as they stepped towards it.

"Jesus, that's him! The Sage. But this thing must be hundreds of years old."

"Older still," James corrected thoughtfully as they approached it closer. "You're certain its him?"

"Aye," Edward confirmed without hesitation. "It's the eyes that mark him."

"Did the Templar's say why they wanted this Sage?" Kidd questioned, crouching down next to the face and fiddling with something.

"They drew some of his blood into a little glass cube," Edward said, heading up the steps as well to it and gazing around at the details of the ruin and the large, stone face.

"Like this one?" James asked, holding one up between his hands. Naruto came closer and craned his head curiously, noting that there was a line - a small, deliberate gap - traveling between two of the corners.

"Aye." Edward nodded as he examined it with furrowed brows. "They meant to ask him about the Observatory too, but he escaped.

"Hm. We're finished here," James told him, walking past the green stone head and into a corridor beyond.

Soon they were out of the ruin and back in the jungle, James leading them back to Tabei. As soon as they reached him, the older Assassin motioned for them to duck down.

"Quiet," James warned.

"The statue in the temple... was that the man you saw in Havana?" Tabei questioned.

"Spitting likeness, aye."

"It seems another Sage has been found," Tabei said grimly. "The race for the Observatory begins anew."

"Is that why we're whispering?" Edward questioned, tilting his head, almost in a mocking sort of way.

"This is _your_ doing, Captain Kenway!" Tabei hissed, turning and pointing down the way from where they stood in the shadows, to where redcoats were firing into cornered assassins, killing them. "The maps you sold to the Templars led them right to us, and now the agents of two empires know exactly where we operate."

"Leave this to me, Mentor," James volunteered solemnly as Tabei began to walk away, drawing his attention back.

"They have taken Edward's crew as well," Tabei added, drawing both Edward's and Naruto's attention more acutely than before. "I wonder what their lives are worth to him." Giving the blond Welshman a last glare, he walked away into the brush, leaving the three others there.


	8. Creed

Naruto couldn't help but feel a slight sense of dread at Tabei's words that their own crew had been captured along with the assassins. He had begun to get to know a number of them, been accepted amongst the crew, and while the threat of death was a constant for seafarers - and especially pirates - it was less of an immediate certainty most days.

He could tell from the squareness of Edward's shoulders that he was probably fearing the same fate for their crewmates, and there was a certain terse, forcibly controlled rigidity about James' demeanor as well, likely for his assassin comrades.

"Take this," James told Edward, handing him a hollowed wood pipe. "It'll attract no attention, and take fewer lives." He paused, glancing to Naruto. "Unfortunately I have only one."

"That's alright," Naruto assured, flashing a slight grin as he pulled out his personal throwing knife, dangling it from its cord. "I won't need it."

James eyed the weapon with brows rising slightly in approving surprise, nodding and glancing back to the boy's face.

"I hope you know how to use it well," was all that he said, turning his attentions back to Edward and advising him on how to use the pipe and what the two different kinds of darts did, some which would put a man to sleep, others which would poison and make the one stung by it go mad. "Quiet and effective, see?" he said after Edward had put one guard to sleep with it, leaping down to finish him off.

While Edward went and dealt with a gunmen standing watch up on one of the taller structures, Kidd motioned for Naruto to follow him around the far other side through the brush. Sleeping darts from Edward rendered the soldiers marching about unconscious, and James used the moment to run underneath a stone portico and free an assassin bound and kept there.

"Do you have the Sense as well?" James finally asked, rather abruptly as they were slinking through the bushes.

"I... don't know what that is," Naruto admitted, hushed. "You guys lost me on this whole Sense business a l-o-o-ong time ago."

"It is difficult to explain to those who have not experienced it before," James told him carefully. "But once you have, you would know what I am talking about."

"I'm not so sure about that," Naruto stated sheepishly, flushing slightly. "Big words are lost on me."

"Well, it's not something that can simply be explained anyway. Not easily, at any rate. 'ere, follow me."

Naruto followed the other male into the thick trees above, towards a darker corner where a single soldier with a lantern marched around one of the prisoners. This time it wasn't an assassin but one of Edward's own crew. They perched between a wedge in the branches, hidden behind thick leaves, but where they could see the British soldier below.

"Everyone is capable of the Sense, but not everyone manages to bring it out. Edward is a natural at it, he needs no instruction or practice to bring his out. For you, it might not be quite so easy, but from what I've seen so far, you're skilled in things some others only wish for, like how you climb and navigate."

"So how does this Sense thing work?" Naruto whispered. "And try to explain it in simple terms."

"It's like using all of your senses at once; hearing, taste, touch, and smell. Sharpening them beyond what you thought possible before, until you can see and hear things you never could. It's like a glimmer that is otherwise invisible to the naked eye, but with the Sense, they become detectible, changing your entire view on the world."

"I... still don't really get it," Naruto hummed, squinting in concentration.

"Like I said, its not something you're going to just get unless you can do it, but there's no harm in trying to see if you can."

The brunette hummed and turned his attention to the soldier, who still appeared unaware of them. Further away he could hear movement, some blades clashing, likely Edward going toe-to-toe with some of the soldiers.

Sharpen all of my senses at once... until you see and hear things you otherwise can't...?

He shifted slightly where he was perked, straining his ears to hear and eyes to see in the thick darkness of night, inhaling deeply to scent and taste the air, concentrating hard. There were a lot of things that reached his senses; smoke from flames and lanterns, the smell of earth and plants, rustling of leaves from the wind, animals chirping in the night... he tried to strain his senses further, but in the end, he shook his head, sensing nothing beyond the usual.

"It's alright," James assured, giving him a pat on the back. "It doesn't come naturally to everyone. Even amongst those of us that have it, its unusual to get it without training and practice."

Naruto nodded mutely, and they continued onward to dispatch the soldiers and rescue sailor and assassins alike. They took care of all the enemies on the upper levels fairly easily, then worked their way to the village lower on the island, which was occupied by yet more British military.

James alternated between making sure Naruto and Edward were faring alright with their covert mission, Edward making good use of the blow darts, and Naruto with his throwing knife and wire, which was good for catching enemies around the throat before they could raise alarm and dragging them into the brush to be finished off, before moving on to the next.

While Naruto was going about helping them take down the invaders, he figured something out. His red coat did a rather fine job of helping him blend, at least from a distance. Taking one of the tricorn hats off of a slain British soldier helped him further to get around without having to skulk through the bush too much. Those who noticed him as not belonging only did so when he was close enough to silence them.

Between the three of them, soon enough they'd managed to free enough of their fellows that taking out the rest of the soldiers and freeing those who remained became little more than child's play. Soon enough, the village was cleared out. Awaiting them just past the shoals of the island though was a ship belonging neither to Edward nor the Assassins, which Kidd was observing through a spyglass.

"Who's out there?" Edward questioned as he and Naruto rejoined the assassin.

"See that mangy old codger?" James directed, handing the spyglass over and pointing. "He's a Dutch slaver called Laurens Prins. Living now like a King in Jamaica." They couldn't help but notice James lean forward slightly, narrowing his eyes and watching the man aboard the ship ahead like a dog sighting a cat, ready to give chase. "Bastard's been a target for years. Bloody Hell, we nearly had him!"

Edward turned to look back as Tabei and a couple of assassins flanking him approached, looking grim and unsatisfied, but slightly relieved with having managed to save many of their own who could still be rescued.

"By God, you bravos are a cheery bunch, eh? All frowns and furrowed brows."

"Captain Kenway, you have remarkable skill," Tabei acknowledged.

"Ah, thanks, Mate. It comes naturally," Edward was quick to boast under the seeming compliment, though his comment was quickly cut short.

"But you are churlish and arrogant, prancing around in a uniform you have not earned," Tabei continued, eyeing his white robes up and down.

Edward glanced down at himself, merely smirked, and spread his arms wide in challenge. "Everything is permitted. Isn't that our motto?" he scoffed.

Tabei's frown deepened, and he chose not to further entertain Edward's jab.

"I absolve you of your errors in Havana and elsewhere, but you are not welcome here." Without further word, he turned, and walked back to the village so that they could clean up the damage that had been done.

James remained silent just long enough for his fellow assassins to leave earshot. "Sorry, mate. Wish it were otherwise," he said, before turning to follow.

Edward merely scoffed once James had left too, glancing at Naruto as if seeking support for his side, but the light brunette merely held his hands up to show he had no interest in getting in the middle of any of it.

Having dealt with the trespassers and freed both their crew and the assassins, the two pirates went about checking on their own crew and making sure everyone was accounted for and as unharmed as could be hoped for. Once they got their hands back on Edward's Jackdaw and made certain they recovered every man, they sought out James once again.

"Cheery bunch of mates you've got," Edward greeted sarcastically.

"You deserved scorn, Edward," James returned with strained patience. "Prancing about like one of us. Bringing shame to our cause."

Edward merely paced around in front of the other male with annoyance he bothered neither to hide nor suppress. "And what is that?" Edward demanded, not caring much for his words. "Your cause?"

James stared at him for a moment, then turned to look at a bracer on his wrist, which a hidden blade just like Edward's slid out from. Admittedly, Naruto was kind of envious of such a weapon, the question of where he could get one of his own twitching just behind his lips.

"To be blunt… we kill people. Templars and their associates. Folks who'd like to control all the empires on earth… claiming it's in the name of peace and order."

"Sounds like Du Casse's dying words," Edward recalled, and Naruto remembered the same when he thought back on it.

"You see?" James said pointedly, pushing himself to stand. "It's about power really. About lording over people. Robbing us of liberty."

"That's pretty ambitious," Naruto couldn't help but think aloud. "Is something like that even possible?"

"Aye." James nodded. "If no one tries to stop them, it could be. But that's why the Assassins exist, so that it won't." He stopped to glance past them, and they followed his gaze to where a pigeon was heading to a bird cage full of other messenger birds.

"That another message from one of your friends?" Edward questioned, barely seeming truthfully interested.

"Aye," James answered, turning to smirk at them. "I'll show you." He went and retrieved the pigeon, as well as the message tied to its leg. "I know you ain't exactly impressed with our Creed, so would the sight of money make you more friendly to our ways?"

"As ever," Edward confirmed.

James chuckled, tapping the side of the bird cage. "Then work these contracts around the West Indies for us, and we'll pay you. Simple as that. Now follow on." He began to walk, motioning for the two to tail along. "I have one last secret to share."

"How long have you been one of these Assassins, eh?" Edward probed curiously.

"Couple years now. I met Ah Tabai in a Spanish town, and there was something about him I trusted. A sort of wisdom."

"Is all this his idea? His clan?"

"No-o sir," James mused with a hint of laughter in his voice. "Assassins and Templars have been at war for thousands of years, all over the world. The natives of this new world have a philosophy like our Creed, as long as they have been here, and when Europeans arrived, our groups sor' of... matched up. Cultures and religions and languages keep folks divided... but there's something in the Assassin's Creed that crosses all boundaries. A fondness for life and liberty."

"Sounds a bit like Nassau, no?" Edward proposed neutrally.

"Close," James sniggered. "But not quite."

They walked into a stone tunnel beneath the ruins, into a tunnel that turned and wound, until they came to a bronze-gold colored door with many holes in it.

"Here we are. Take that stone you took from the Mayan stela, and put it there," he directed.

Edward did as he was told, pushing it in. The circular piece was a perfect fit.

"That's one." James crossed his arms, examining it. "Couple dozen more and you're in."

"And what will this effort gain me?" Edward asking, looking the slightest bit distrusting, after Kidd had first tricked him to meet there in the hopes of being initiated into the Assassins.

"Respect, for a start," James told him, jabbing an accusing finger into the man's collarbone. "From the men and women you put in danger, here. And if that ain't enough..." He stepped around past Edward. "There's a treasure behind that door. Something many centuries old. I reckon if you made the effort to find every last one of those, it'd be worth your while."

Edward turned to look the door up and down again appraisingly, toying with the idea, but set it aside for the moment. "So are you sailing back to Nassau?"

"When I have another contract there, aye, but this is my home for now," James told him, shrugging one shoulder.

Edward merely nodded, turning to gaze at the door again, as though it might open for him then and there if he continued to stare long enough.

Soon enough, they turned and left the building to return to the ship, and much like a time before, James stood in wait for them to pass to grab Naruto's attention before parting, separating him from Edward without the man seeming to notice or pay much mind.

"So what do you plan to do?" James asked, tilting his head in question and eyeing the teen intently. "My Mentor said that Edward is not welcome back here, but he said nothin' about you."

"I wasn't really able to use that Sense thing you mentioned, though," Naruto grumbled, looking unhappy and ready to kick some poor, unsuspecting pebble across the ground. "I tried to do it again while we were all getting rid of those soldiers, but I don't think I even got close to doing it."

"Having the Sense isn't a requirement of joining," James told him. "Though it helps. You can be trained to use it, like many of us here were. Even if you were never able to learn it, you still have skills that would be useful to us." He paused and glanced around at the stains of blood and corpses that his fellows were still working to take care of. "We could certainly use the numbers. Even if its just one more body to fill the role left open by those no longer with us."

Naruto hummed uncertainly, shifting his weight in indecision. When he took a long time with no results to show for it, James spoke again ahead of him.

"If you aren't set on it, that's fine too. No one is forcing you to. You have time to think on it, and if your desire is true, I don't think Tabai will turn you away."

"I think... I'll stick with my Captain," Naruto decided, glancing over his shoulder to Edward's receding back, looking a little antsy to catch up.

"Well... if you ever change your mind, you know where to find us, and who to talk to," James said neutrally, respecting his decision. "That said, I wish you well out there."

Naruto nodded, smiling. "Thanks. You too!" he returned, spinning on his heel and dashing after Edward.


	9. The Sense

"Busy" was putting lightly everything that Edward and his crew were up to after leaving the Assassin headquarters behind them.

They visited various island settlements on their way back to Nassau, establishing a presence and checking out the local taverns. Fist-fights with the local ruffians were often involved. Besides that, they raided as normal, dealt with pirate hunters as they came, and claimed loot and treasures that had washed ashore smaller islet sandbars after some poor ship somewhere had probably sunk and set its cargo afloat.

When they returned to Nassau, it was to Thatch sporting a large, black beard that would soon become his well-known title all across the seas and some new captains to join up with the current in Nassau, Captain Vane and Captain Rackham. The island was everything Naruto wanted and needed in a playground to practice and hone his climbing skills, especially the fort up on the cliff.

He constantly tried to figure out the Sense thing that James spoke of, even asked Edward for some tips or explanations, but was left disappointed and with little to show for his efforts, deeply frustrating him. Once or twice, James made port on the island where they ran into each other, Naruto quick and eager to ask for help trying to use the Sense. James offered him encouragement, even tried to give him some tips and training in it, but it just wouldn't come to him. He spent many nights kept awake when he should have slept pondering it, trying to learn the trick to getting it to work, but made no progress with it that he could tell.

While his skill with the Sense was nonexistent, his skill with climbing and fighting only improved. He didn't climb the ranks nearly as fast as he would like, being lifted up from Cabin Boy to Powder Monkey for a time, then Gunner's mate and sometimes acting as assistant to the carpenter, when it came to mending the sails and rigging, considering he could climb up and down the masts better than any man aboard, with the role of Boatswain in his likely future.

However, there was another problem that plagued him, besides his troubles with the Sense, and that was the nightmares. Each time it stormed, they would arise, not always carrying the same events, but without fail, involving a deep red fox, sometimes small and other times monstrous in proportion. He came to hate and dread each storm that came or went, and to notice the tension in the air that promised one soon to come, long before anyone else could tell by reading the clouds in the sky.

Even awake, he tried to avoid them whenever he could, hiding beneath deck or insisting they make port before one hit. He could _hear_ the roars that haunted his sleep in every peel of thunder, feel its fangs in the wind and see its fury in the waterspouts that lashed across the sea and sometimes ripped through or even picked smaller boats up into the sky. Days where the sunset or sunrise was particularly orange or red, reflecting such shades off the sea, he would shiver, and tell any who noticed the breeze was simply a little too crisp for his liking, even on days where the air was humid and sweltering. His skittishness didn't go unnoticed, and at times he was even questioned about if he was ill or going mad with too much heat or too little proper food and drink.

He shrugged them all off, and told no one of his nightmares, any more than that the storms brought them about. One thing he knew was that seafarers were deeply superstitious. What would they think if he told them a demon fox plagued his mind at night, setting the sea aflame and the sky black? Or of foxes with many tails in dreams where there was no sea and sky to speak of? Some days he even wondered to himself if he was going mad, but he didn't want to risk alienation or fear of him where he was so welcomed and praised for his contributions.

Almost a full year passed before they became involved again in Templar-Assassin business, claiming the naval fort in Punta Guárico where the leader of the West Indies' Templars, Torres, was holed up, interrogating him for the location of the man everyone called The Sage. That led them to a deal to take place in Kingston, where they met up with James, who was after Laurens Prins, the one in possession of the Sage and offering him up for ransom. Turned out the Sage - Roberts - worked for the man, and was no prisoner at all. Turned out also that James' real name was Mary Read, and that _she_ was no man, a revelation that deeply surprised both Naruto and Edward, the younger of which did a far poorer job of containing his shock.

Luckily for Mary, they managed to assassinate Prins, though the Sage escaped of his own accord once again, much to Edward and Mary's frustrations. They parted, and those of the _Jackdaw_ returned to Nassau.

The months ticked by, into the next year. A number of pirate captains were gaining quite a bit of notoriety, one among them being Thatch, otherwise known to all more commonly now as Blackbeard. There was talk of a pardon being offered by King George the First to all pirates who wished to take it, which gave rise to talk of planning to defend the island from British occupiers strongly believed would return to claim Nassau as one of their colonies again. Sickness plagued much of the island, making it appear a ghost town some days, and a need for medicine.

Edward, Blackbeard, and Vane met to discuss where they would obtain medicine, and settled on the location where they had seen a Spanish ship go down and wreck some years ago, where it was likely there was still medicine in vials of glass at the bottom. They obtained a diving bell just for the occasion, and met Blackbeard at the rendezvous point near Dry Tortuga, anchoring alongside _the Queen Anne's Revenge,_ Thatch's Frigate, carrying more than forty guns.

The wreck, as Thatch explained, had no medicine to speak of for them, but at least proved to have treasures still sitting at the bottom, waiting to be claimed by any daring enough to swim the depths for it. Naruto harassed and begged for the chance to undertake the task, but Edward refused. After much more pestering, he agreed to at _least_ let the lad hang around the diving bell and watch.

It wasn't the most glorious adventure ever, but deeply intriguing. It didn't take long for his attention to shift from Edward to the various sea creatures both distant and near that passed by. There were ribbony jellyfish, gentle drifting through the swells as if not a care in the world, schools of fish in stripes of blue and others in solid pink that flitted in great swarms, even a gigantic manta ray, lazily flapping its broad fins like an underwater bird the size of a gunboat. It was definitely an experience he looked forward to having again.

Thatch promised that he'd solve the issue of the medicine himself if Edward couldn't come up with the desired quiet way of getting some, and delivered on it a few weeks after, or at least attempted to, taking on a Man O' War on his own, according to Thane, who they found patching up his ship in Gibara. Edward promised he would go to Thatch's aid and bring him back alive, though Vane didn't seem to think it worth the effort.

"Captain, there's a wreck yonder," Ade voiced as they sailed south, the seas shrouded by thick white fog, making it nary impossible to see beyond the bowsprit. "Looks recent."

"I see it," Edward returned grimly, eyeing floating boards and pieces of ship, some still on-fire. "Let's hope Thatch hasn't come to the same end."

"Another piece of wreckage, Captain. This is looking grim."

"Aye," Edward replied, while Naruto peered over the side at the floating debris and bodies. "Keep your eyes peeled." After a moment of silence, he turned his attention to Naruto, holding out his spyglass. "Lad, go keep watch from the crow's nest. See if you can spot anything."

"Sure thing!" Naruto nodded, turning and bolting to the ratlines, scaling up them.

"Blast! This is getting well out of hand," Edward cursed aloud.

"A dozen crates of medicine should not be so hard to come by," Ade told him.

Edward's words fell into barely more that muttering, and Naruto had to strain his ears hard to hear, especially as he reached the crow's nest above.

"...-atch and Hornigold and this pointless fued of theirs. Can't you feel it?"

"I do, aye, but both men have their hearts in a good place. Both want the best for the people of Nassau."

Edward spoke again, but it was too quiet to hear. The boy turned his sights to the sea with the spyglass, but he was straining his hearing to hear Edward and Adewale first and foremost.

"Well then what solution would you suppose?" Ade questioned.

"The answer's in wealth and power, not politics. If we found the Observatory, we'd see enough money to buy the whole of England. Or it might be-..." He lowered his voice.

Naruto tried to strain his hearing further, and gasped as his vision flashed and the world almost appeared darken with shades of grey-blues and blacks, the people on deck below appearing to glow blue. He violently shook his head, startled, and almost stepped clear backwards off the crow's nest, throwing his weight forward to cling to the mast. When he opened his eyes again, the world looked normal again.

"What in the-?"

"-large talk, Captain, but is it your crew you sail for, or yourself...?"

The rest was lost to his ears, and soon the conversation ended, allowing him to fully focus on locating the _Queen Anne's Revenge_. He thought he saw something further down, near a cluster of islands, and perked.

"Captain!" He waved for Edward's attention and pointed. "There!"

Soon enough, Edward and Ade spotted it, sailing closer. Just off Mariguana Island, the large frigate was docked, and Blackbeard along with his crew were fighting redcoats on the beach ashore.

"There's no time for a vote. Thatch is outnumbered!"

"The crew'll understand," Ade told him as they pulled aside and stopped the _Jackdaw_. "Beat to quarters, Lads! We're sailing into Hell!"

"I'm going ashore," Edward told Ade as he let go of the wheel, sprinting across deck and leaping to the deck of Thatch's ship to reach the dockbeyond.

"I'll keep the _Jackdaw_ circling."

Edward didn't pause, nor did he and Adewale notice Naruto leap down onto the rigging above and across Thatch's ship's to join the fray until he was already ahead of Edward with weapon drawn. He tackled the first enemy with his back turned into the sand, just before they would have cut down a pudgy man cowering at the edge of the dock that he had seen earlier amongst Blackbeard's crew.

He sprung up and ducked around a sword swung his way, catching the soldier by the throat with his cord, and flipped him face-first into a rock, splitting the man's head.

"You've stirred up a nest of trouble, Thatch!" Edward barked as he joined them.

"In service of a noble cause," Blackbeard defended indignantly, not slowing his pace as he cut down one enemy, then spun on another, with all the ferocity of a whirlwind himself.

"Medicines, I hope you mean!" Edward rebuked as he slashed one soldier, then shot another point-blank in the chest. He readied to duck as he heard the cry of a soldier charging at him from behind, but the guy was caught around the leg and tripped, and Naruto leapt upon him to finish the guy off, flashing a grin and jumping back into the fray fearlessly.

"Aye! A galleon nearby. And if we crack these lobsterback's quick, we might catch up to her!"

A brute with an axe proved more of a challenge for the brunette, parrying each of his attempts to strike, and he reached back to retrieve a smoke bomb from his pockets, throwing it down. The man coughed and sputtered, first on smoke, then his own blood when the teen plunged his blade into the man's gut just long enough that his arms left his throat and left it exposed.

A last one, he leapt upon from behind and plunged his knife through his skull, while Edward and Thatch finished off the last of their own opponents.

"You don't do nothing subtle, do ya, Thatch?" Edward harped unhappily.

"Legends ain't born from mildness."

"Ah, gentleman! Our galleon has reappeared!" the pudgy man warned, pointing out to see through the fog to where massive sails became recently visible just some ways from the island.

"Back to my ship, quick as you please!" Blackbeard ordered, sprinting across the docks. "She'll not slip away now! I'll see you both back to your _Jackdaw_ once the smoke has cleared, but for now I need a helmsman!"

"Call it out," Edward told him as he followed. Naruto darted after and past them to the helm, almost bouncing where he stopped.

"Loose the mains!" Blackbeard roared. "-and head straight for that ship! We'll have our medicines in little time at all!"

"C-can I try?" Naruto asked hopefully as Edward gripped the wheel.

The blond captain went to open his mouth, but Thatch was quicker.

"Too many cooks spoil the soup. I only need one helmsman, and this is a job for an _experienced_ sailor, no' a mere boy."

Naruto scowled, glaring.

"Well there's no time like the present to get experiences, right?" Naruto argued as the sails dropped and they began to lurch forward. "Just gimme a chance! It's not like either of you are going anywhere, right?"

Edward pursed his lips, he and Thatch exchanging a look.

"Alright, lad, but if I say to hand over the wheel, you do so without question, and don't be so big-headed to not take orders. Understand?" Edward told him sternly. The boy grinned.

"Of course!"

Maybe it had simply been the exhilaration talking before, because once he actually had the wheel in-hand, he was already feeling almost a big overwhelmed. The frigate was much longer than Edward's own _Jackdaw_ , with sails that obstructed the view much more from where he stood, and the wheel didn't turn quite so easily as he first thought it might, offering up stubborn resistance in the water. She was a great, lumbering beast, and he was already beginning to think he'd sorely underestimated what it would take simply to steer her, never mind everything else.

"Y'think you can handle 'er?" Thatch questioned, and Naruto wasn't sure if it was because he himself was tense or if the man had seen that the boy was tense and somewhat uncertain as well.

"Of course I can, just watch!"

He didn't miss the almost nervous glance he shared with Edward.

"Mortars heading our way!" Edward warned, and Naruto nodded as he saw them fire, turning the ship with a great deal of effort, sharply to the right. Flaming cannonballs exploded upon the surface of the sea, two tore into their ship, but that was the extent of it.

"You had better damn well not sink my ship!" Thatch warned. "Or the devil will be the least o' your worries!"

Naruto had no doubts he would make good on that promise, inwardly shivering.

They turned to the side and fired into the nose of the galleon, three full rounds of cannon fire, men on deck firing swivels into weakened parts of the hull afterwards.

They swept around behind the Man O' War, and though he didn't actually have experience with sailing the _Jackdaw_ , he could tell that Thatch's frigate was much slower and more cumbersome, almost painfully so. He would have much rather had a more nimble brig to work with, but all the same, he didn't want to openly complain, and there was nothing to be done for it but keep sailing or hand the wheel back.

"Cannons ready!" a man yelled.

Once Naruto had the ship lined up, Thatch bellowed, "Fire!", sending another barrage into the wood hide of the enemy ship.

The galleon slowly began to turn, aiming its own many guns back at them, and readying another volley of mortars that sailed downward from the sky and ripped into their deck, sending men flying or ducking in cover, some even falling overboard and being lost somewhere beneath the hull and churning waves.

Naruto veered the ship all the way around as men hopped back to loading and readying the canons with well-practiced efficiency, someone calling that they were ready again as the galleon charged straight for their side. The brunette only _barely_ managed to squeeze the ship around being rammed with a sharp turn, breathing hard from the pure effort of trying to move the behemoth ship alone, and put some distance between them before turning back.

One last volley crippled the ship and tore holes in its sails enough to halt its progress, and Thatch took the wheel without a word, charging headlong for the galleon and ramming the enemy ship's flaming, splintered side.

"She's cracked, lads! Send 'em to Hell!" The men aboard hopped to and made their way to the enemy's deck, while Thatch looked to Edward and his younger protégé. "Find the Captain and end this!"

Naruto watched as Edward took off up to the crosstrees using the mast cables, while he himself leapt over the rampart and to the deck of the Man O' War, immediately catching the attention of some of the soldiers aboard it.

He jumped aside and rolled, back to his feet, and slashed the back of the man's leg, earning a scream as he crumpled. With a fierce kick, the man was down and out, and he searched for his next foe. The body of a redcoat fell from the upper foremast, and he spared a glance upwards, where he saw Edward navigating the crosstrees and ropes between them.

He was forced to focus back on his task as a redcoat charged in with blade drawn and managed to slash his side. He wasn't sure how deep or shallow it was, but didn't have the luxury of stopping to find out. He leapt away and backpedaled from several swings, before seeing an opportunity as the man stepped over some rope, grabbing another piece of it and yanking.

The man fell with a startled yell and he sprung forward, stomping one foot down on his armed wrist, then the other into his face, before taking the saber from the man's crushed hand and returning to the fight, twirling his throwing-knife in one hand and wielding the sword in another.

He caught one man around the neck with it and yanked him back, slashing his back and spine open with the sword, then used his corpse to take a bullet aimed his way. The enemy gunman became distracted by another on the boy's side, allowing him to untangle his weapon quickly and turn his sights on other enemies.

He saw one man struggling against a brute armed with a heavy ax and charged in to catch him from behind, running the sword through him. Another man then jumped him, running him against the rail and the rat-lines, with the only thing keeping him from having been cut down was blocking with the saber her had taken off the earlier corpse.

He snarled and kneed the man hard between the legs, making him double over, and lodged his knife through the side of the man's skull, taking a moment to suck in two quick breaths, before going back to the fight.

One enemy managed to slash his brow far too close to his eye for comfort, and it impaired his sight as the wound, though little more than a minor laceration, bled profusely and dripped into the eye beneath it.

At one point he felt the hard, blunt end of a weapon handle hit him squarely between the shoulders and send him sprawling forward over a crate, knocking the breath from him. He struggled to draw breath and rolled to the side, barely missing the bite of a blade down the full length of his back. He rolled further as the blade came again, sticking in wood just long enough for him to deliver a nasty kick and stagger his opponent, then rush in and impale him through the chest.

Panting, he backed up and brushed backsides with someone, spinning on his heel and ready to cut them down as well, but he stopped just in time when it was Thatch that he came face to face with, dark clothes and face splattered in spots of scarlet, his face set into a snarl that was admittedly nightmarish. They turned back to the fight as more soldiers pushed in on them, intent on seeing either one or both dead.

"Ye' fight well, fer a pup!" Thatch tossed over his shoulder, just as he brought his weapon down through another man's shoulder, and then halfway through his neck, unaffected and tireless as the corpse fell to his feet. "It's too bad yer in Kenway's crew, and not my own!"

"Well I'm not switchin' over, if that's what you think!" Naruto tossed back as he took down another himself, pausing momentarily to wipe the crusting blood from his eye. "Not that I don't think you aren't an awesome captain too!" he added hastily. He noticed now that what fighting men remained of the enemy were quickly surrendering or retreating, while the deck was littered in bodies, most of them soldiers, but some pirates as well.

Thatch straightened up and looked towards the helm, where Edward stood over a more regally dressed figure. It seemed the enemy captain was at his end, and the fighting was quickly ceasing. When Thatch approached, Edward stopped back, and let the other pirate captain have him, grasping him by the front of his shirt and leering down at him.

"I am not a man accustomed to murder, Captain, and if you'd taken quarter, you'd not be seeping now," he growled in a low, deadly tone.

"Suck a muzzle, gobshite," the British man choked rebelliously, glaring hatred. "You'll be hanged and sun-dried, just as them that were in Boston."

"The King's called for a pardon."

The British captain sputtered and laughed weakly, and Thatch threw him down as one of his lower-ranks approached bearing a box.

"Captain, we've searched the hold. Its a middling take, but the medicine we found bears a Charles-Towne stamp."

Thatch flipped the lid up, examining it, then nodded his approval. "Thank you, Mr. Hands."

"We cannot resupply Nassau out here by force and accident alone," Edward advised as they stepped away to the railing while the crew looted anything of value from the holds and the pockets of both the dead and remaining enemies. "We should go to Charles-towne for the lot."

Silence fell, Thatch appearing to give it some consideration, before they were interrupted by the cowering man from the beach, who still stood aboard Blackbeard's ship.

"Um... hello! A-are we victorious?" He looked sheepish. "I-I fear I am not built for the fatigue and care required to live as a man of fortune."

Thatch sniggered to himself, while Edward rolled his eyes slightly.

"Meet me in Charles-towne," Thatch agreed, beginning to walk back to his ship. "One month from today." He began to walk down the steps, then paused suddenly and turned as if he had a thought. "Oh, and by the way... that's some boy you got there," he motioned to Naruto, who looked startled to suddenly be the object of attention. "Quick to action, a decent helmsman, _and_ a skilled fighter. I'd tell you to promote him, except that one day you may be answering to him as Captain instead, were you to take my advice. Best be careful no one steals and recruits him from under your nose."

It sounded like a comment in jest, but neither of the two _Jackdaw_ members was entirely certain all the same.

"Not a chance, Thatch," Edward returned, taking a step in front of the boy for good measure. "I'll sooner sink you and your fancy rig."

Thatch grinned, almost as if taking that as a serious challenge, but he said no more on the subject. Soon enough, they were returned to their own brig, sailing for Great Inagua only a little further south to rest proper after all of the earlier excitement.

Naruto, for one, couldn't wait to crash and sleep, eat food cooked over a proper fire that wasn't fish, and just generally take a load off. He ate and slept as soon as they reached home, even though day was still in full swing, and awoke in the earlier part of the morning, well before the sun arose.

No one else seemed to be up yet as he was, and after stretching out the sore kinks in his muscles, he walked off to the edge of the jungle, not having had the proper chance to explore the island.

That wasn't all that he wanted to explore though. Now that the smoke of Thatch's risky expedition had passed, he had something else he wanted to try, that he had been aiming to do for the better part of a year now. He traversed the pathway that led to the old, shambled village, buildings made of branches woven together and grass-thatched roofs.

Scaling up the upper structures in the trees overlooking the village, he sat down and blew out a breath, making himself comfortable, and then trying to focus his senses like before. He took note of the sound of birds in the early morning, and small animals both above and below, steadily growing a little louder when his movements no longer disturbed them. The scents of the sea and earth and plants, tinged with smoke from the nearby town on the shore and probably carried by the wind from naval battles further away. The sight of plants moving, some by the wind and others by animals going about their business. He tried to reach them further, to hear and smell and see things that stretched beyond his usual range.

It took a great deal of time, and he begun to grow both frustrated and afraid that maybe he had already lost the ability as soon as he'd earned it, and then it simply clicked.

Colors became distorted and blended together, until most of what was left was merely separate shades of the same. Sound all around him muffled into silence, and yet when he focused his hearing to one specific place, he could hear more than ever, sounds he had never once heard before. Stars and celestial bodies disappeared from the sky above as it went entirely black, darker even than deepest night when the moon had fully waned. Parts of the forest glowed with a faint, white light, thick clusters of bushes good for hiding, almost as if beckoning him to them specifically.

"Oh, wow..." he breathed, blinking and gazing about his surroundings.

A vibrant splash of color caught his eye below and he glanced down. That was when a gasp left his lips as he spied the flickering red form and he jumped to his feet, peering over the edge. The glowing red animal startled and squealed, turning to bolt away into the forest.

On his will, his vision flashed back to normal, and he relaxed slightly as he saw it was only a wild boar that fled away into the forest, not a demon fox as his mind had first guessed. The sound of birds flooded back to his ears, and he could see the sky beginning to go from dark blue to grey, announcing the sun.

Once he managed to calm his heart, he hopped down to the forest floor, testing his new senses again. He was unable to help but grin widely, turning to run back to town and announce what he'd learned he could do now to Edward, and unable to help but think of how great it would be to see James again to tell her the news too.


	10. Chosen Path

Luckily enough, the plan to get medicine from Charles-towne succeeded, between Thatch and Edward's efforts. Such victory was bittersweet in the end, when Thatch announced his retirement afterwards. Worse yet was that he didn't live to see it, when he was killed about six months afterwards off the coast of Ocracoke thanks to a British plant who set up an ambush for them, and their bid to keep Nassau as the place of their pirate republic was a vain effort anyway as the British claimed it back three months prior to that, a flop which James had a few unkind, choice words about.

It was bad enough to have to limp away as all of Blackbeard's fleet were sunk and several Man O' War's battered the _Jackdaw_ to try and see her to the same fate, Rackham mutinied both Edward and Vane in one foul swoop only days afterwards, just after they'd crippled a slaver ship to successfully gain information on where the Sage could be found, aboard a ship called _The Princess_.

"I can't believe this!" Naruto shouted, pacing the small cell of the _Jackdaw_ 's jail in agitation, arms crossed over his chest. "That slimy, no-good... _Grrr_!" He kicked one of the bars. All that earned him was a sore foot on top of it all.

"Calm yourself," Adewale told him. "This will not be the first time a pirate crew suffered a mutiny. Nor that I've been in such a position."

"How can you be so calm?!" Naruto demanded, whirling on him. "Rackham intends to sell you off to the next slaver he comes across!"

"Aye, but what some intend never comes to pass," Ade assured him confidently. "And even if he succeeds, I know my way around enough to not let it last. I am no stranger to the scene of slavery." He paused, giving the boy an appraising look. "You should be wary of such fate for yourself as well. I don't think I need to tell you that my people are not the only ones to suffer such hardship."

"I'd like to see him try!" Naruto barked, earning a small chuckle from the man.

"Well spoken. Then we are in agreement with each other."

"So, do you have a plan then?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"The plan, is to save our energy and wait, for now, and coordinate our efforts with those still aboard the ship whenever the opportunity presents itself. Vane's crew may have outvoted his usefulness, but I don't think our own mates have lost their loyalty, and some among Rackham's crew might soon grow to dislike him. He is not known for his abilities as a captain."

Naruto nodded, seeing his point, though if there was one thing he detested greatly, it was waiting.

As good fortune would have it, some of their own crew freed them two weeks in, saying that Rackham faced certain, blatant mutiny otherwise, of which their mates voiced quite loudly until the man had agreed.

It wasn't simply the threat of mutiny that swayed his decision, though. As Adewale had put it before, Rackham was a very poor captain. At best, he managed to take schooners, and fled from other brigs and frigates almost as soon as they first attacked, limping away. The only relief breathed by the crew was that he wasn't dumb enough to try taking on a Man O' War, but his incompetence was certainly felt in the unhappiness of the crew. He let those he'd imprisoned out only for their help and advice on how to take bigger prizes, and so that he would have a better helmsman at the wheel than himself.

Vane had been ruthless, and Edward self-absorbed, but both had at least been competent and rewarded their crews with enough prize to keep them somewhat satisfied, if not outright glad.

It surprised no one that he brought the battered brig limping into Nassau before long, hopped off the ship, and went rushing to accept the King's pardon. He was both unwelcomed and unallowed to return either to any crews nor the British flag, thrown in the same prison he'd first used to take control of the very same ship.

There was still another problem though, and that was finding Edward and Vane, after they'd been set adrift. Ade bade the crew - and Naruto especially - to have patience and that they would find them soon as they could, but the needs and pleasantry of the majority came first before only two other people, who they weren't even sure were alive to be found.

They were docked just off of Andreas Island, taking rest and drink at the tavern, when a familiar face approached Naruto again.

"Well tha's a sour mug if I ever did see one," James greeted, startling Naruto into glancing behind him as he sat on the beach.

"Oh! Hey, um..." he trailed off, looking conflicted. "Um... what... what should I call you?"

"James not good enough of a name for ya?" she quipped with a slight smile.

"Oh, well... I wasn't sure," Naruto defended sheepishly, flushing. "And you threatened Edo before that you'd basically cut off his manhood if he said anything to anyone..."

"Aye, I did," James smirked, taking a seat on the beach next to him. "So just stick with James, then."

"Oh... okay."

There was a moment of awkward silence, the boy not sure how to go on, but thankfully James handled that well enough for him.

"I heard what happened with Thatch up north," she hummed. "And with Kenway. It's a shame, for both of 'em."

Naruto hummed sadly in acknowledgement.

"So, what do ye plan to do now?"

"We're going to go out there and find Edo, of course!" Naruto declared, earning himself a frown.

"If that's what you want..." she supplied. "Though personally, I think you should give up on that pursuit." When Naruto gave her a scowl, she continued. "You remember what I said, back in Inagua? Edward's doin' nothing but pissin' away his life, and everyone's under him. Man like him is sinking, and he'll drown all those 'round him so long as they let him."

"You sure have a low opinion of him," Naruto grumbled.

"Or perhaps yours of him is a bit too high," James cautioned. "He's been at this gig for _years_ now, and where has it gotten him? Marooned somewhere, his pirate republic all but gone, many of those who shared his dream dead or having abandoned the path he continues to pursue. Aye, he was an infamous captain for a while, but now, he may well be at the bottom of the sea, feedin' the fishes, as far as we know."

"No way! He's out there just waiting to meet up with us again, maybe even on his way here now!"

"Maybe," James agreed. "But a lot of things happen in this wide world of ours. There's no guarantee," she pointed out. "And anyway, where has it gotten you? At this point, you're nothin' but his loyal lapdog, chasing after a dying dream more likely to end in disappointment than anythin'."

Naruto growled displeasure, giving her a glare. "Oh yeah? And who asked your opinion?"

She rolled her eyes slightly. "What I'm gettin' at is, why don't you set your sights to the Assassins instead? Edward is always going to be holding you within his shadow at this rate, and at worst, it'll end with you dead 'fore you're even a man. You have the skills necessary and you have the Sense. We'd be more than happy to have you."

"I dunno..." Naruto hummed, looking skeptical. "Not that you guys don't seem kinda cool yourselves, but..."

"I heard also that you sailed Blackbeard's ship once, against a Man O' War even, and did fairly decent too. I'm not sayin' to give up entirely on that lifestyle, but you don' need Edward to achieve success and recognition. I'm not sayin' to agree without some thought put to it neither, but I think bein' one of us would suit you fine, if you just gave it a try."

Naruto still looked uncertain.

"Come with me to Tulum," she offered. "You can talk again with my Mentor and the other assassins, see how you like it. If you decide it's not for you, there's nothin' stopping you from going back to your life here. I'm sure your mates would understand."

"Maybe..." Naruto hummed, giving it some real consideration. A thought occurred to him and he glanced her way in question. "Um... so if you're here, does that mean you're after someone? Or were you just dropping in to say hello?"

"Aye, I have a target," she confirmed, looking mildly surprised he'd picked up on it. "If you'd like, I can even give you a crash course on how we handle our business, and you can decide afterwards if you like."

Naruto paused, thought on it, then nodded. "I guess there's no harm in it."

"Good man," James smiled as she stood up, dusting sand off her clothes. "Come on, then. The timing's just right as it is." As they passed by Adewale, she gave him a slight wave and told him, "I'll be borrowin' this lad for a bit, maybe some longer, if he chooses!"

Ade gave the boy a questioning look, but all he offered up as he passed was, "What he said!", before sauntering after. He followed her to her schooner.

"So where are we going?" Naruto questioned as he followed her to the helm.

"Abaco Island, just a ways north of here." She stepped aside and leaned against the rampart. "An' _you're_ taking the wheel." Naruto gave her a look of surprise. "You just leave the navigatin' to me and my crew."

Before long, the island came into view, and she pointed to the tall rigging of a galleon on the other side, beached on a sandbar well out of the water.

"You see, there?" she directed. "That's where we're headed."

"Right," Naruto hummed, though he was mostly focused on his task of steering. He'd handled Thatch's frigate before, and the _Jackdaw_ on a few occasions while Rackham had been in command. James' smaller schooner was much more nimble and easier to handle than both of the other two. "This ship handles nicely," he mused aloud.

"You're not too bad at handlin' her either," James returned. "If you like, we could make this a more long-term affair. Perhaps even get you one of your own."

Admittedly, it was a tempting idea.

"I have no idea where I'd get a crew though," he felt the need to point out.

"I's not that hard," she shrugged. "There are plenty of men about the Indies that would be willing to join up, I'm sure, same as any other crew found its foundation."

She broke away from conversation to bark out some orders for half-sail as they neared their destination, telling him to swing the ship around wide and circle the island while she got a good look through her spy-glass.

"Beach is crawlin' with Spanish navy," she mused as she surveyed the island.

"And there's no dock," Naruto observed.

"A dock'll do us no good here anyhow for this job. See that galleon washed up ashore? She'll do us much better, and I see no soldiers anywhere aboard it. We'll jump overboard as we pass it by, and use it for our approach, while the crew keeps sailin'. If all goes well, he'll never even catch whiff of us coming."

Naruto nodded, and they did as she planned, handing the wheel off to someone else as they leapt off the deck and dove into the waves below, paddling to the sand bar where the larger ship was grounded and abandoned. They scaled up the empty cannon ports to deck, quickly glancing around, and then climbing over the last ledge when they were certain there was no one waiting on it to raise alarm.

"You remember how to use the Sense?" James questioned, leaning over the rail and surveying the island below.

"Of course!"

James nodded. "Use it, and tell me what you see."

He blew out a breath and tried to focus his senses, until his sight and hearing changed like he had managed to do before. His own words sounded strange to him, almost like he was hearing from underwater.

"Everyone below looks... like they're glowing red, except you look blue. Its weird."

James nodded. "Those who you call friend appear blue when using the sense. Anything that's your enemy or a danger appears red, whether they be human or animal."

"How do you figure that?" He tilted his head.

"Its the same for all, from what I understand. A lot of us don't know how or why its that way, but there are a few theories," James explained, her words crisper to him than his own. "The Sense transcends what we normally see and hear of the world, shows us things that are there but invisible to the naked eye, includin' the auras of people and their intent. The Sense reveals that intent to our eyes, where most would only be left to guess."

"Its weird," Naruto hummed. "But I think I get it."

"An' there he is," James growled. "My target." She pointed to one of the figures. "You see there?"

He nodded.

"To my eyes, he appears gold. It separates him from the rest. Somehow, the Sense knows how to differentiate, and shows me who my target is."

"That's really amazing," Naruto marveled.

James nodded, patting him on the shoulder. "C'mon. Best we get down to business. I don't want him getting away, and we're on a time-limit."

"How so?"

"I'm not only here to kill 'im, but to make sure he doesn't get his hands on something important as well."

Naruto blinked, but nodded, and followed James to leap off the ship into a thick cushioning of leaves below when no one was looking their way.

James whistled for a lone soldier to grab their attention and lure them close, before springing out and sinking her hidden blade into him, and dragging his corpse into cover.

"Now you give it a go," James said, nodding to another man that was approaching their hiding spot, none the wiser. "And try to keep it quiet. Th' point of our work is to do it quick and clean as possible. Get in and out without anyone seeing if it can be helped."

He nodded, drawing in an apprehensive breath. He watched the man walking and stop, gazing about, then turned to march away. Steeling his nerves, he glanced around to make sure no one else was close enough to see and leapt out, slinking across the sand with the wire between each hand, and leapt on his back, cutting off his airways with the wire around his neck so he couldn't yell for reinforcements, and dragged him back into the brush flailing and kicking, where he slammed his elbow into the guy's head and knocked him out.

"Good work," James praised sincerely, patting him on the shoulder. "Come on. We've got to move further in."

Naruto nodded and followed, to where they crouched in the brush, closer to the center of the island. James handed him a blow pipe and dart.

" 'member this? Quiet, and efficient." She pointed to her target. "It's that one there. You do the honors this time."

"You sure?" he asked, looking uncertain.

"Quick, 'efore he gets too far away!" she encouraged.

He nodded, stuffing the dart in and aiming. When he was sure he had it lined up, he sent the dart flying, saw the man jump as it hit its mark, and before long he began to go crazy and attack his fellow men, cutting a few of them down before someone finally grew bold enough to off him.

"See? Quick and quiet." She turned and started to creep away, while the soldiers were still wrapped up in chaotic confusion about what had caused the outburst. "Now come along, before they grow aware to our presence."

Soon enough, they returned to James' ship, and Andreas Island soon after, talking of the Assassins and what they were about, as well as what sort of personal gain the boy would get out of it. He was especially eager for some of the tools they often used, like the hidden blade at Kidd's wrist. James assured him that he would have one of his own were he to join them.

One topic that they circled back to though, and that he wasn't entirely willing to drop, was Edward. That was a matter they discussed more thoroughly once they returned from their little adventure on Abaco Island and reunited with Adewale and the crew.

"So, did you enjoy yourselves?" Ade questioned, curious as to what they had been doing or where they'd gone, since he'd had little-to-no explanation.

"I think I'd call it that, yeah," Naruto agreed tamely.

"Naruto has decided to join my crew," James told him abruptly, earning a look of great surprise from Adewale. She paused and looked at the boy. "Unless I'm mistaken."

"But I still haven't given up on Edo!" Naruto added, more or less confirming her words. "I'm going to keep looking for him all the same."

Adewale nodded, waiting for further elaboration. James was the one who supplied it.

"We'll be heading our way to the west, and then south, to Tulum. You remember the place where the Assassins call home, aye?"

"Aye, I do," Adewale nodded, suddenly appearing to understand what the sudden change in company was all about.

"We'll be keeping an eye and an ear out on our way. From what I understand, you'll be searching him out as well, as much as events allow."

"We will be heading east then, to Great Inagua. Hopefully by then we will have heard something. Edward may even already have found a way to make it there himself."

James nodded his agreement, glancing to Naruto.

"I'll be waiting aboard my ship when you've made ready and said everything you mean to," she told him, offering a wave to Adewale and walking back to the docks.

Naruto nodded, then looked back to their quartermaster with a sheepish, apologetic expression. It was enough to gain the man's attention enough to speak before he said anything.

"Don't be sorry. If this is a path you choose for yourself, then I am happy for you. The crew and Edward will understand," the man told him, nothing but acceptance and respect in his voice.

Naruto lost some of his guilt and smiled more broadly. "Y'know I might end up liking it less there than I do here."

"Then you are always welcome to return to us," Ade laughed heartily, roughing the boy's hair. "As far as I am concerned, you always have a home with us, should you choose to return to it, even if it is just for a brief meeting, for old time's sake."

"I definitely will, at some point!" Naruto promised, grinning. "Count on it!"

"You're leaving?" someone barked, Naruto glancing past Ade to the disappointed looks of his fellow crewmates, soon to be former. The guy frowned and motioned to either side of him. "Well don't hold out on us! Don't we deserve a proper goodbye too?"

"Of course I wouldn't forget you guys!" Naruto yipped, sauntering to the counter and snatching up a cup of grog, holding it up for a toast as he grinned at all of them. "We've gotta have a _proper_ party before I go off on my own adventures! I'll settle for nothing less!"


	11. Blood and Mercy

Tabai didn't seem the most happy man to see Naruto in tow with Mary at first, until he learned Edward was nowhere within any nearby vicinity. After that, the older assassin seemed fine enough to have Naruto interested in joining them, though he was a little wary of his motives, considering he and Edward had been very close. Were truth be told, Naruto wasn't completely sure of his motives either, other than that the life of an Assassin sounded exciting, even more given he didn't have to give up pirating and choose one or the other. Not entirely, at least.

The best he could offer up was that he wanted to make something memorable of himself. Something that others could respect. Tabai took that very open to interpretation, explaining that he could achieve that amongst their Order if he so wished, so long as he respected their Creed.

He went on to explain the history of their Order as they knew it, though much of it he had little interest in. Stuff about wars and important figures and so-forth.

What caught his attention more than that was what they mentioned of certain artifacts and tools. The stone face of the Sage beneath the temple was only one such related figure, and that was nothing worth sniffing at compared to some of the other things.

They spoke of things they called the Pieces of Eden, objects of great power. The Observatory - as they told him - was only one of many hundreds of Pieces scattered across the world. Others were called Apples, orbs containing knowledge and the power to bend people's minds. Others were swords or staffs, even entire temples and tombs hidden away. They didn't mention where any of them could be found, or show him any directly, but he was assured they were very real and, most importantly, very dangerous.

It was the reason why both Assassins and Templars were at war for so long, battling to gain such artifacts and use them to finally defeat the other, and in the Templar's case, to rule over and conquer the world.

The teen had known that whatever conflict going on was heavy, but he hadn't actually known before _how_ heavy.

Even so, he promised Mary he'd give it a shot, at least for a while.

"I'm not sure I'm digging these robes," he couldn't help but voice, twisting and looking at himself. "I mean... how effective is it, really? To try sneaking about and assassinating people wearing _bright white?_ "

Mary couldn't help but smirk at Tabai. "He's kinda got a point," she added in amusement, having always dressed herself in browns and blacks instead.

He decided against the robes, sticking with his red coat, but he was overjoyed to finally have a hidden blade of his own.

He was still somewhat uncertain of leaving his old crewmates and Edward behind, but he quickly replaced feelings of unease with a determination to surpass Edward as a captain, rather than mope about it, and he was certain that he _would_ see both him and Adewale and everyone else once again later.

In the meantime, he had other things to do, all of them involving his new recruitment to the Assassins. Tabai wanted to test his skills for himself, since he hadn't had quite the luxury to see him in action. That way, as he explained, he would know what level the boy was at and be able to treat him accordingly in terms of further training.

The first was a test in fighting skills. He was impressed, though his compliment came with a side note of describing them as "flashy and brash, in need of some refinement". It was enough to put a damper on his spirits for all of ten seconds, before that turned into determination to improve and learn all that he could. Tabai seemed pleased that, at the very least, he was more than willing to listen and learn.

The next thing was a challenge of his climbing abilities. It was simple enough. Travel from one end of the village to the other. The only catch was, if his feet touched the ground, he lost, and he had to start over entirely. Tabai added an extra catch just before he began. Reach the end in three minutes or less, and he wasn't allowed to scope out his route ahead of time. He managed to do it in just over two and a half minutes, which Tabai said was an "acceptable" job.

"Acceptable?!" Naruto burst out boastfully. "I did great! I _owned_ that test!"

His skills in fighting and climbing were certainly decent enough, Tabai admitted. He was, however, the exact opposite of humble or subtle.

Tabai gave him a little bit of a different task afterwards. There were several kinds of animal on the island, and the man gave him a list of which ones he wanted Naruto to obtain. As he went on to explain, "people are somewhat easy to get the better of and ambush. Animals have greater senses and instincts, it takes much more tact, subtlety, and patience to get the better of them." He put a catch on those as well. Nothing like guns or blow-darts. That certainly made things much more interesting.

Native birds were on the list of animals, as were frogs and other things. More concerning was that he was expected also to get a crocodile, a monkey, and a jaguar. Certainly those would turn out to be... er... "fun".

But he was always up to a challenge, if it would help him become better at something.

At first, he thought it'd be relatively easy. He was quite wrong about that.

He started with monkeys. There were plenty of them around the village, just hanging out in trees, munching on fruit at the end of branches. As soon as he got anywhere near, though, they went scampering away into the thick jungle, disappearing from his sights and reach easily. He spent an entire day, not even getting anywhere _close_ to them. He decided maybe he was just having bad luck, and he would try again the day afterwards.

The monkeys ran as soon as they saw him the next day, so he changed to trying to get frogs. That didn't go any easier either. He heard the frogs croaking from afar, but when he neared, they went silent and still, and darted away into the forest or the water when he got too close. He gave up on those soon enough as well, and decided to try his hand at one of the species easier to reach.

Crocodiles were... to put it into one word, _terrifying_. He tried a whole bunch of things. Throwing stones to get their attention, using a branch in the water to have them come and bite, trying to drag them out by their tails. He even grew so bold as to try and leap on one from above at one point and almost had an arm ripped off while the damn thing barrel-rolled around in the water and tried to drown him.

So far, no luck at all.

Then came jaguars. Jaguars were the worst. Not only were they vicious and deadly, they could climb every tree he could.

"So..." Mary greeted as he returned empty-handed yet another day, flopping down and taking off his coat to reveal his arm where he was sporting several new gashes and a tear through his favorite red coat. "Learn anythin'?"

"Well I learned I hate wildlife," Naruto grumbled, hissing as he poured some medicinal liquid over his gashes. "Especially _cats_."

Mary smirked and inched closer. "Here, lemme see that." She went about stitching the slashes after getting a good look at him, ignoring Naruto's whines and moans of pain. "Man, that cat really did get you good."

"No kidding," Naruto quipped.

"Y'know its none too smart, takin' a jaguar head on like that," she pointed out, raising her brows pointedly.

"Tell that to your _Mentor_ guy," he returned icily. "It's _his_ stupid test. This would be so much _easier_ if I could use something besides just my blades!"

"Well, he said you couldn't use guns or blow-darts. Projectiles, basically. He never said you couldn't use other things," Mary pointed out patiently.

"Huh?" He blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

She sighed aloud in exasperation and tapped him on the skull. "Use your head, man! You can go wrestlin' crocs and big cats in the jungle all you like if you want, and come limpin' back day in and out with scratches and wounds, or you can play it smart."

He looked slightly insulted at that, but also thoughtful, humming in contemplation. "Okay, so... Tabai only said I couldn't use shooting weapons, then?" He tilted his head to the side, giving it some more consideration. His eyes lit up. "Kidd! Where can I find poisonous frogs around here? They make their homes in these jungles, right?"

Mary laughed. "Not here, they don't," she told him, watching in amusement as his face fell. "Anyway, frogs ain't really used as often as you hear. We don't have those dart frogs in these parts, but what we do have is Curare."

He quirked his brows in confusion. "Curare?"

"It's a toxic plant, and it sees a lot more use than frogs do, though it takes a bit more preparation," she told him, nodding. "If you want, I'll show you how to make it."

He grinned, nodding. "Alright!"

It turned out to be more difficult than he first thought. Trying to make poisons was certainly not something he understood well enough to make a habit out of it, but he tried to pay attention and learn as Mary showed him. At the very least, he ended up with enough of it to suit his purposes just fine.

He had to get a frog, a bird, a monkey, croc, and jaguar. Simple enough.

He spent one his those days making a very crude feeder and dropping crumbs of food into it, hanging it amongst the trees within the village itself where he knew a lot of birds frequented. At first, the birds avoided it and eyed it suspiciously, but after a few days, it paid off. Birds were using it regularly, and the next time he mixed in some tainted with the poison he and Mary had made. It worked, and soon enough he had the first animal on that checklist.

The next was the monkey. He knew they ate mostly fruits and nuts, but he'd seen them eat birds and meat on occasion when they could get it as well. A dead bird was the perfect thing he needed. He got a long, loose branch and stuck the bird on the end of it, resting it against one of the favorite eating spots, and waited. And waited. And waited some more. He was just about ready to give up again one the monkeys started to come to investigate, interested in his little "offering". When one of them had effectively perched on his branch and coiled its rail and toes around it, he yanked the branch away and brought it tumbling down, pouncing on and killing the little critter. That was two down.

Next came the crocodile. Surprisingly enough, he was almost looking forward to it. He got another branch and took his throwing knife with the loop on the handle, tying it on to the end, took perch on a large rock in the middle of the lagoon that was its territory, and used the meat and entrails from the monkey to lure it in.

"Alright, you nasty reptile. This isn't gonna end like the last time," he muttered, seeing the lazy side-to-side swish of its armor-plated body and tail. The croc took the bait rather quickly, snapping up the monkey in its jaws, and he lanced straight through the back of its neck with all of his weight, the crocodile thrashing below him and nearly dragging him off the boulder. He held fast though, and within minutes, he could successfully say he'd managed to get three of his five animals.

With the crocodile gone, he was able to get his fourth as well, one of the frogs.

The last one up, much to his dismay, was the jaguar. The wound on his arm was still healing from the last encounter, though at the very least he would have a nice scar to show off later.

He had hoped that his same tactic as the last ones would work. Just lay out some bait and wait for the animal to go prancing by. It wasn't quite that easy like before.

He laid out the meat as bait, and soon enough, the jaguar showed up. It _did_ notice his presence however, and instead of simply blindly going for his trap, it went after _him_. He jumped back so quickly from it that he fell straight out of the tree, then had to go sprinting back to the village with the big cat on his heels, screaming for help. Just after he burst in, the jaguar skidded to a halt, hissed at him from the end of the path, and went slinking back into the jungle.

Clearly, he was going to need a better plan.

The next time he brought along a wood spear, if nothing else than to keep the damn big cat from climbing up to where he was in the trees. That bought him about three extra seconds to run than the day before it.

After that, he tried throwing stones to lure its attention. It went chasing after the noise, sniffed around, and he grinned triumph as he leapt closer through the trees. He didn't, however, go unnoticed, and ended in him quickly turning tail and dashing back to the village before it could rip into him with claws and teeth again.

He tried lassoes and tree-snares and food hung from or in branches, all of which failed. He tried leaving poisoned meat and dashing, but the jaguar didn't touch it. He even tried painting himself to look like another jaguar. Nothing worked, and he had more than a few scratches and bumps to show for his efforts.

One morning Mary planted a hand on his shoulder, almost grinning as she motioned with her head to the entrance to the jungle. "Looks like your friend is waiting for you to come play," she told him, and when he looked, he saw the cat was already waiting for him, almost guarding the jungle itself. His eyes met its green hues, and it spat in his direction, just _daring_ him to even try to enter.

He couldn't help but scowl unpleasantly, and took one of the other paths the long way around that day, which led him to the beach. That didn't prove any better, as the jaguar found him there and chased him straight off the cliff, where he went diving into the water. The big cat ran down to the shore, hissing and spitting at him, but didn't enter the waves to go after him.

"What's the matter? Can't stand a little water?" he called, even as he backpedalled further into the depths a bit, just to be sure. "Scaredy-cat!"

Getting back to shore, however, proved a hassle. The jaguar wouldn't leave, just waiting for him to come back. He ended up having to swim the full length past where the beach ended to get back to the village, sopping wet and still unsuccessful, defeated for the moment but determined not to let it last. He wasn't going to let a _kitty cat_ get the better of him!

He thought of using darts. Of cheating. Really, who would know? But that would be taking the easy way out, and he didn't _want_ to take the easy way out of passing his test. He wanted to prove he _could_ do it!

He spent all night coming up with a strategy, while a tension in the air promised a big storm the next day. He could feel it in his being the same way a cat felt the rain in its whiskers before the drops hit.

That thought actually gave him a moment of pause.

Likely the jaguar wouldn't like the tumultuous weather any more than he did. It would be wet, with sharp wind, and loud sounds, and little other wildlife to be found for food, either of fish or land-dwelling species. His thoughts progressed to what he thought an acceptable enough plan, and he began to prepare the next day as the winds began to pick up and a drizzle pelted the landscape and sea.

He went to talk to Tabai, asking for some help in what sort of plants and things in the forest would be good for masking his scent. Once he found out, he bathed thoroughly as he could, then went and used a mixture of those and mud, on his skin, wearing only pants and his hidden blade.

The storm started to pick up then, and he went the far way around to the beach, bringing with him some meat and fish that he tossed onto the path at the edge of the jaguar's jungle territory, and dragged his red coat along the ground before leaving it there, and then waited laying down on the cliff above the shore, covered in big palm leaves, moss, and mud, waiting patiently.

After about an hour and a half, he saw the golden shape slinking across white sands, following the trail of scent from his coat, until it found the article of clothing to inspect it curiously, turning it over, and then glancing into the trees in search of him. He carefully moved to crouch on all fours, without moving too fast or making much noise, stalking it like a predatory cat himself.

As soon as he was confident enough, he leapt down on top of the jaguar, which snarled and howled at him viciously, twisting around to claw and bite into him. He grit his teeth and rolled, avoiding its fangs and unsheathed talons. He grasped a coil of rope he'd secured to his belt just a little while earlier, already with a small lasso on the end of it, and caught one of the jaguar's paws in it, though not without earning a nice, long scratch.

He twisted and rolled again, the jaguar ending up underneath him and trying to buck him off. He managed to coil part of the rope around its neck, brining its one front paw flush against it and making it harder for the cat to fight him. Before long, he had both its front paws trapped with rope, then around its thick chest, and tied it against the trunk of one of the trees before separating to catch his breath and regain his bearings.

The cat thrashed and used its still-free back legs to try and pull away, twisting and writhing to no avail. Once he'd recovered somewhat, he pinned it and drew his hidden blade, pressing it to the jaguars throat.

"You've caused me a lot of trouble, _'ttabeyo!_ " he growled, scowling. The cat side-eyed him, its jade eyes and jaws wide in terror and ears flattened against its skull, panting. He held it there for a few moments, steeling his nerves to finish it off, but for one reason or another, he lost his nerve. He didn't want to, not entirely relaxing, but some of the predatory tension leaving his shoulders.

They both stared at each other for a while, one panicked and the other annoyed but uncertain, with the only sound being the big cat's heavy breathing and the squall of the storm and booming thunder.

He contemplated what to do next. Nothing was stopping him now from driving his weapon into its neck and killing it, but all the same, he failed to see a point in doing that. He gnawed on his lip for a while, and the jaguar deeply mewled distress and confusion, wriggling to escape from under him and the rope bindings.

He took a deep breath, grabbing a fistful of gold and black fur, and quickly swiped his blade just shy of its flesh, then undid the ropes and bolted into the trees as fast as his legs could carry him.

The jaguar sprung back to its feet, pacing and hissing at him from the sand below for a handful of seconds, paused, then bolted away back into the jungle, new bald spot and all. He smirked, retrieving his coat, and made haste back to the village before it could think to return and seek some vengeance. After he'd cleaned himself up a bit and re-dressed, he finally went to see Tabai, declaring he'd finished his task as the man told him.

"You have here a frog," still alive, Naruto liked to note. "A bird, crocodile, and monkey as I asked. There is, however, no jaguar," Tabai pointed out, raising his brows.

Naruto scowled, pointing to the patch of gold and black hairs he'd taken as trophy off its pelt. "What do you mean? Those are totally jaguar hairs!"

"Ripping out a few hairs does not constitute an entire jaguar," Tabai returned with patience, quirking his head up. "You did not bring me a jaguar as I asked. Why?"

Naruto grumbled under his breath, shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat and scuffing his shoes. "I had it. I really did! I even had it tied to a post and pinned down, and my blade ready, but..."

When he fell into silence, Tabai prompted, "But?"

"I mean, what would be the point?" he burst out. "The jaguar didn't do anything wrong, and you _said_ I only had to catch it! You never said I needed to actually _kill_ it! I caught it, just like you asked, and then let it go after getting some hairs off of it just to prove I really did get it!"

"These hairs could have simply come off of a branch somewhere the jaguar rubbed against," Tabai pointed out, just to be sure.

"Hey! If you don't believe me, then _you_ go out there and see for yourself! I shaved a good few inches off that thing's pelt! Just go and see!" Naruto argued.

Tabai nodded, finally appearing to accept that Naruto was telling the truth. "So, rather than follow the instructions of your mentor as I intended them, you decided to change the interpretation, and let it go when you had it, even at the cost of possibly failing my test?"

Naruto huffed, turning his gaze elsewhere, but he didn't further the argument.

"Well... I can't say I'm disappointed."

That was certainly the last thing he expected to hear from Tabai, looking back at him in surprise. "So... you're not mad that I failed your test?"

"Failed?" Tabai sounded shocked he would even imply it. "You caught the jaguar as I told you. You brought back proof of it. Then stayed your blade when it didn't need to be used, thinking for yourself. I meant to teach a lesson, and I did."

"I don't think I quite get what's going on," Naruto admitted, squinting and tilted his head.

"As you said, the jaguar did nothing wrong," Tabai stated. "You met the requirements I asked, and then let it go accordingly. Knowledge and obedience can be taught, even here, where we strive to protect and maintain free will and thought. What I cannot teach is empathy. Even though the jaguar left you with wounds, you didn't hold it against it, and allowed it to go free, as is its right the same as any other living thing."

Naruto flushed. "Yeah, but I still ended up killing three other animals before that," he pointed out.

Tabai nodded acknowledgment. "Learning is not always clean and bloodless. We have all made mistakes like this before. I don't ask for perfection, but to try ones best to do what is right with the knowledge we have at the time is a reasonable enough expectation."

Naruto nodded, smiling understanding. "Yeah, I think I get it."

"You must learn when to stay your blade, but also when to use it. There will be times you may be tempted to afford such leniency to our enemies, and that will be your choice to make, but just remember what consequences such action might bring," Tabai warned. "Some do not deserve it."

Naruto nodded, then jumped slightly as Tabai shoved the container with the frog into his hands.

"Speaking of affording mercy... I'm sure you would like to see this fellow back to his proper home as well."

"Yes sir!" Naruto piped, spinning on his heel to let it go back into its pond.


	12. The Demon in the Storms

Naruto ducked up into an empty barrel, dropped from above with a stone as a weight, and gasped in much needed air. Each intake made the water level rise, until there was no more to be claimed, and he dove back down, holding his breath.

Water diluted his vision, but he could still make out the shapes and colors enough to know what was what, including the swarm of bull sharks flickering around the shipwreck. He twisted around and swam through a square hole where stairs led beneath deck, maneuvering carefully between planks lined in venomous sea urchins that had secured themselves into the bloated, wet wood.

He managed to find and open two chests, partially already cracked open by the pressure of the depths, then swam further up through the panels. A yelp of pain was muffled in the back of his throat as he didn't quite swing wide enough around another beam lined in urchins, and he had to resist even panting around the sting as he would normally do, trying to make the air in his lungs last as long as he could.

It was a good thing, too, because he was beginning to go light-headed and hazy-eyed by the time he reached the next air barrel, barely avoiding having a shark take a chunk out of his hide.

He swam another part of the wreck, then down towards where he'd seen the last barrel drop earlier, hearing the crackle of a moray eel to his left. He was careful not to get too close, then turned and began to head back to the diving bell, slipping in amongst the seaweed when a shark began to grow too close for comfort.

He lingered for a while as the huge grey fish circled around curiously, while a deep, shrill sound reached his ears. He glanced over at a shape as mighty in size as their own ship, a sperm whale, gently floating along further away. Why couldn't _that_ be over where he was, and the sharks over where it was?

He shook his head, and noticed the sharks were moving further away. He finally saw his chance and pushed out of the seaweed, towards their diving bell, once again for some much needed air. He considered going back up, but dove down one last time to get a good look around, using his Sense rather than his eyes, since it aided him much better underwater anyway.

He spied one last thing. The only problem was, it was sitting at the very top of the ship's mizzen mast, with no cover from the sharks.

He grumped from within the diving bell, but determined that he could probably pull it off, though with no small amount of risk. He eyed the sunken masts and crosstrees, planning his route, took a few breaths, and began to swim.

He reached the first crosstree just as one of the sharks noticed him and came closer to investigate, and he pushed off it to make himself go faster, swimming hard for the next one. Two more sharks noticed and came towards him, but he ignored them, focusing only on getting to where he needed to go. It wouldn't do him any good and slow him down to focus on them anyway.

He reached the second crosstree and pushed off, grabbed the thing his Sense had seen glimmering, and pushed up further off of the very top crosstree, into the shadow of the whale.

The sharks turned and lost interest in him, and he continued to swim, pushing off the whale's side back to the diving bell, snatching a few breaths of air and then following the chain all the way back up, the pressure on his chest slowly alleviating.

He gasped and sputtered as he breached the surface, merely letting himself float on the gentle waves of the calm mid-afternoon for a short while, before a familiar voice grabbed his attention.

"Ahoy, lad!"

He whipped around in the water, only just now realizing their one ship was accompanied by another. Certainly he had seen the shape of its hull from beneath the waves, but he hadn't realized exactly _which_ ship it was until now.

"Captain Kenway!" he yelped, eyes wide in surprise. The Welshman smirked at him. He smiled back happily. "Does that mean Ade and the guys found you?"

"We-ll, not quite," he shrugged. "I had to find my own way home, and when I did, it was to find you'd changed sails." He paused, and glanced over at Kidd, aboard her own ship. "Thatch warned me I should watch it, else someone might steal you from under my nose. I suppose he was right."

James laughed from her deck. "I can't _steal_ someone who came along of their own choice," she told him.

"Uh huh," Edward mused, not sounding as though he believed a word of it.

"Ahoy!" Ade greeted, appearing from beneath deck and waving at the boy. "I see you are well!"

Naruto waved back, and decided it best to start paddling back, before any sharks decided to venture further and take nibbles out of him. Once he finally managed to heave himself aboard and dry off somewhat, he walked to the bow and stared across at the brig that he had called home for a few good years.

"Any chance you might trade back, now that I've returned?" Edward asked hopefully.

"Not a chance!" Naruto called back, smirking at the frown Edward bore. "Pretty soon I'm going to get my own ship, and then you'll be callin' _me_ Captain too!" He scratched beneath his nose, grinning from ear to ear. "Not _your_ captain, of course, but _a_ captain at least! Then you'll have another ally lending their crew to the pirate republic!"

Edward smiled, chortling. "Is that right? Well, don't boast too high on my account. It will end up leaving little to the imagination."

"Your imagination is too small to hit the mark anyway!" Naruto shot back in high spirits. "So where are you going to now?"

"Kingston," he supplied. "That's where I was told the _Princess_ would be. With any luck, we'll find the Sage there." Naruto nodded. "And what of you?"

He paused, pursing his lips, and glanced back at Kidd. Technically it was _her_ ship.

"Most likely the same," she offered up, crossing her arms as she stalked across deck casually. "Though I can't say yet for sure."

Edward nodded, walking to reach the helm of his ship. "Perhaps we will see each other there, then, and help each other out."

"Perhaps," she returned levelly, saying no more as they sailed away. After a short while of staring at their receding brig, she gave Naruto a pat on the shoulder, walking up towards the helm. "C'mon. I think it'd be best if we head for Kingston ourselves. We can stop at the ports that are on the way, and see if we can't muster enough men to give you a crew as well."

Naruto perked, hopping after her. "Really?"

"Aye," she grinned at him. "And if we can manage that, then we'll find you your own, probably start you off on a schooner much like mine. It will make things easier for the both of us, in the long run at least."

They sailed south and docked first in Salt Key Bank, managing to find only two people interested there, then headed west to Matanzas, a plantation just outside Havana.

They anchored just out of sight, where there was an inlet bay, blocked from ships by narrow passages between the rocks, but not from swimmers. They used that to their advantage to go ashore unnoticed when night fell, and offer escape to any plantation slaves willing to take it. Of those they were able to reach and speak with, seven were bold or desperate enough to agree, the rest too resigned or too fearful of being caught and punished.

In Havana they managed to gather four more, enough for a proper crew aboard any schooner, perhaps even a brig like the _Jackdaw_.

"This ship's lookin' quite crowded now," James noted as they set out from Havana onto open seas again. "Now that we have you the men you'll need, let's sail out, and find you somethin' worth taking."

Naruto nodded, but a brief search of the nearby waters turned up only gunboats, too small to bother with. They headed southwest, in the general direction of Tulum, deciding they would keep heading towards Kingston and claim their prize on the way, since they _had_ to run into one sooner or later.

They didn't need wait long, locating one traveling with an escort of two Spanish gunships, likely paid by the merchant vessel.

"That one, there! You see her?"

Naruto nodded, seeing them in the distance, but he was wary to pursue. He felt a shift in the wind that brought with it the tension of a brewing storm.

"Maybe we should wait for a different one?" he suggested, earning himself a look of exasperated question.

"What's wrong with that one there?"

"Nothing!" Naruto piped. "I just... don't think the weather is proper for this kind of thing right now."

James paused, looking about the sky, then back at him. "There's hardly a cloud in sight, and barely any wind to even hint at a storm." She paused, giving him a careful look, before going on to say, "You're not gettin' cold feet on me now, are ya?"

"Of course not!" he defended, mumbling, "I've just... never been wrong about this before." Some of his old crew even joked that he was clairvoyant when it came to the weather, after his long history of predicting and trying to avoid them. He wasn't sure some of them were actually joking and didn't truly believe it either.

"Look, there's nothing in sight to even suggest a storm brewin'. Don't focus on unlikely suspicions. Your ship," she paused, pointing. "-is _right_ there. All you need to do is take her."

Naruto sighed, grumbling incoherencies under his breath. "If you say so..."

He turned the ship to pursue, and when they got within range, they blasted into one of the smaller gunships, easily sinking it. The remaining two were quick to respond to the attack. The schooner opened its sails more fully, while the gunship turned to stave them off. The second gunship was quick to go down, after only two rounds of canon fire. That left only the fleeing schooner, which they tailed after at full speed, managing to match pace with it from only a few meters behind.

"Give 'em the taste of a chain shot!" Kidd barked, her men hopping to loading the canons at the bow and firing, shredding the sails and cracking the masts. The schooner continued to try and pull ahead of them, fleeing and throwing down fire barrels that they avoided as they continued to pursue.

Before he knew it, a drizzle started to wash down from the sky and the wind picked up, and then the drizzle became a full on lightning storm. Almost immediately after they managed to cripple the ship they were after, the waves claimed it, sinking it before they could even grow near enough to board her.

"Damn! There goes our target," Kidd cursed, gripping the helm rampart. "Looks like y'were right about that storm."

"I told you!" Naruto harped unhappily, having a rough time navigating the high waves and wind properly.

"Half-sail!" James ordered when a particularly strong gust almost blew them onto their side. "We'll head for Conttoyer and make dock," she told him, pointing in the direction she wanted him to take. He merely nodded, frowning deeply as he focused on his task.

The crack of thunder and lightning above made him flinch, and a wave tried to toss them sideways, but he merely turned sharply to climb up and over it. Before long, they could see waterspouts, connecting the clouds and sea.

"Can you handle her?" James asked as she eyed the pillars of swirling wind and water.

"Yeah, I think so!" Naruto replied, though his voice was shakier than he would have liked.

Before he knew it, suddenly he had gone to use his Sense without even realizing it, and it made him gasp aloud. The sea had gone from dark greys and blues with webbings of white to hues of flame, the clouds and sky above turning to black smoke, and he leapt back in shock, letting go of the wheel.

He was certain he heard James shouting something, but he couldn't hear her, not sure if it was the roar of the wind or of his own blood pounding in his ears with panic.

One of the water devils passed on their left, and James steered sharply away from it. He saw something, almost like see-through wall of the faintest red and orange hues that they passed through. Just as they were in the center of it, the spout switched directions sharply, and cut straight across their ship, splintering wood and creating tears in their sails, even carrying two people off who hadn't managed to hold onto something in time to be dumped somewhere out at sea and drowned by the storm.

Naruto clung to the railing of the stern, frozen where he was as the storm raged all around him and his soon-to-be crew and James' struggled to keep the ship afloat and on its course. He drew in sharp gasps of panic, but as he was doing so, he was watching, seeing walls of orange and red snake through the sea like an aurora, and he realized something.

Those ghostly flame walls were a path, one for each waterspout, and each followed its course as he saw it without fail.

Then he realized something else, and that was that James was sailing right into the middle of another.

He suddenly leapt up, rushed forward, and shoved her aside to grab the wheel and turn it sharply to one side.

"Have you gone completely mad?!" James screeched in his ear as they bow angled towards the waterspout. "You're going to sink us!"

"No, I'm not!" Naruto shouted in promise. "Just trust me! I know what I'm doing!"

"What you're doin' is steering straight into one!" she argued.

"You didn't believe me before when I said the storm was going to happen either!" he shot back, looking desperate. "So trust me _now_ when I say I'm saving our asses!"

She looked like she wanted to argue, opening her mouth to do just that, but seemed to decide against it and let go of the wheel, giving him full control. "If you get us sunk..." She trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished.

"I won't!" he simply assured, turning the wheel sharply as far as it would go. The waterspout passed dangerously close, but he saw its path already and knew it wouldn't tear through them again, and sure enough, it veered away on the path that his eyes could see.

In the clear, for the moment at least, he turned the wheel the opposite way, and set course back on their path for the naval fort Kidd had decided they would dock at.

Another came at their side, and he could feel James' tension beside him, watching it with deep worry, but he kept their path true, and that one veered off behind them as well.

Another came from behind, and he turned to one side, letting it pass. James lifted her spyglass, seeing the fort ahead, and barely dared breath as the waves tried to jostle them too and fro, the sea trying its damnedest to tip them upside down or toss them into the very air.

She drew in a breath as someone shouted, "Rogue wave!", and she saw it, coming up from their left side to smash into them, while two water devil's were likewise swooping towards their bow on both sides.

"Naruto, lad!"

"Don't worry, I see them!" he assured. "We'll make it!"

Her breathing hitched a good few times as the waterspouts came closer, until she could feel the spray they whirled around, the clouds above swirling and roaring. She and much of the crew gripped onto parts of the ship to keep from being carried off as both funnels threatened to crash over them and rip their ship to shreds.

He sharply turned the wheel to the left, between both roaring funnels as the rogue wave closed in on them, then to the farthest right as quickly as he could, reversing their direction just as the rogue wave smashed into their stern and sent them forward, just in time to avoid getting hit by the waterspouts and shredded, missing it by only a couple of short meters.

No more than a few minutes afterwards, and they were throwing lines to the dock of the fort and pulling the ship in to make port. James finally let out her breath and relaxed slightly, though she - and a good many others, Naruto included - was trembling with adrenaline from their close encounters.

She shook her head, staring the shaken young male down with a critical, but relieved, eye.

"That was some fucking reckless sailing back there," she told him, sounding breathless. "But, _damn_ , I've never seen anythin' like that. Its almost like you knew exactly where to go."

"I think... I knew exactly that," he breathed, looking somewhat uncertain of how he had managed. "Its strange. I've never seen the sea like that before."

She raised a brow. "Like _what_ before?"

"Like... like it was on fire," he hummed. "And like the storm had a mind its own, already knowing everything it was going to do."

She raised a brow, and he couldn't help but flush, realizing how crazy he sounded. "I dunno what's goin' on, but how's about we all take shelter first, before we take the time to find out, shall we?" she proposed, as the crew finished tying the ship to the dock and filed out into the fort to where it was safer.

* * *

"Dreams?" James repeated.

"They're more like nightmares, actually," Naruto decided to correct. "But this is the first time that I've seen anything like them outside of it. Normally the sea looks normal, but this time... it was like Hell had opened before my eyes."

She sat back, humming in speculation. "Why only this time?"

"I... don't know..." Naruto admitted, staring down into his pint of drink with pursed lips. He thought on it for a while, before coming up with an idea. "Although, I've never used my Sense during a storm before. Normally I outright avoid them. Plus, I've never been at the wheel during one, on top of the other times."

"An' you think that may have something to do with it?" James asked carefully.

"Maybe," he replied quietly.

She regarded him in silence for a few moments, still looking like she was having a hard time believing everything, before she smacked her drink down and stood. "Come with me." It was less of a request and more of an order.

They stepped outside of the building into the courtyard of the naval fort. The storm was still in full swing, and Naruto jumped slightly when a crack of lightning and thunder sounded overhead.

"What are we doing out here?" he asked, otherwise following obediently.

"I want to see proof," she told him, stopping where they could easily view the storm and the waterspouts that continued to rage through it, small tsunami waves clawing at the bank. "You said they each follow a path, right?"

He nodded.

"Tell me, where is that one going to go?" She directed with a motion of her hand.

He used his Sense, reading its path, and pointed, to show her where. Sure enough, it went exactly where he said it would go. She was impressed, but not completely convinced, until he predicted two more with pinpoint accuracy.

Her Sense, however, as she went on to explain, didn't show her any of what he was seeing in the storm.

"You've got somethin' special," she admired honestly. "I don't know how you do it, or how its even possible, but its a gift."

"I'm not so sure," Naruto murmured less certainly, staring out at the flaming ocean and black sky that his eyes showed him. The thunder roared above, a sound that had haunted his sleep far too many times already, and he couldn't help but shiver. "What my Sense shows me is nothing short of a demon."


	13. Something Familiar

By next day, the storm had passed. They were able to sail out again and secure a ship as intended before, only what they took wasn't a schooner, but a basic military clipper. There hadn't been anything wrong with aiming for a schooner, and certainly they were quicker and more maneuverable than a brig, but he was a bit happier with the outcome.

The main reason being the ramming horn at the bow.

Capturing it was no small feat, of course, and they had to take it back to dock to repair the damage they'd put it under in order to capture it in the first place. Repairs were not cheap, but James agreed to spot him that once, on the condition he pay it back. They even planned to take on a few of the contracts for the Assassins, of which James would take all the pay until she had been reimbursed in full.

Naruto easily agreed to that immediately, too happy with his new ship and crew to even stop and consider it further.

Once his ship was patched up and ready for departure, they went to Pinos Isle, the entrance to which was guarded on each side of the narrow passage between the rocks by frigates. After sailing wide around both, getting a good view of what they were up against, they formulated a plan to bombard one such frigate with mortars from afar, since the narrow passages wouldn't allow for their enemies to turn aside and launch their broadside cannons.

They halted just outside easy view of the channel, with a man at the crow's nest directing those below where to aim the mortars, then opened fire. They managed to get in two rounds before those aboard the enemy ship even figured out what was going on enough to react, much less where the fire was coming from. It was only just creeping out to see by the third volley, and by the fourth, it was already incapacitated. They sunk it with another shot of regular cannon fire, though they still needed to rid themselves of the second frigate, which had noticed them by that point, taking on a bit more damage than they had with the first one.

Once they'd dealt with the two ships, they went ashore, finding no soldiers or guards there watching the beach. Further in they found a Mayan pyramid, where they also located their target. Sneaking around the back of the structure wasn't terribly difficult.

The rest was repaid diving and looting the black trench of its shipwreck, and almost losing a limb to sharks in the process.

When they later managed to arrive in Kingston, it was either too ahead or behind Edward to catch him. They made port for a week without leaving, carefully watching the docks for the _Jackdaw_ , but it was absent for each day. After that they sailed a bit, sticking close to Kingston and raiding a few ships here or there, mostly schooners and brigs, but frigates as well when they could manage it.

It took him a little bit to settle into the idea of Captain, but not very long either. Between the tavern in Kingston - a more proper establishment than many of those on the various islands in the Indies - and the city itself and his raids on ships, he was already beginning to earn a nickname to go with his captain status:

 _The Yapping Fox_.

It was somewhat fitting, actually, considering - as James put it - "his mouth was about as loud as his cannons".

That went for assassinations as well once he got used to how things were done. He was the very opposite of subtle, just as Tabai had said before. That didn't mean he couldn't be clever or sneaky. He even used his abrupt straightforwardness to mask when he had something up his sleeve, whether it be to give James a distraction or because he simply didn't have the patience for the old cloak-and-dagger.

They spent their time waiting for Edward in going after contracts, cleaning targets out of Kingston until there were no more current ones to be found. Two of those fled before either Naruto or James could find them, probably on account that word got around rather quickly, what with how much of a show the boy put on.

They set back out onto the Caribbean in the late evening, as the sun was setting, and almost immediately spied a battle to the east, another pirate-flagged brig taking on a frigate and schooner. They turned sharply for it, waiting for the other brig to get enough distance away from the frigate, before opening fire with mortars. That drew the frigates attention, leaving the other brig to take on the enemy schooner.

"We'll take 'em from both angles," James told him from her own ship, swinging to the opposite side.

Naruto nodded. "Right!"

The frigate saw their move to take each side of it and began to turn, aiming its broadside at James's smaller schooner, likely thinking to sink it more easily. Naruto put an end to that when he charged in at its bow and rammed it, making the whole ship pitch to the side and smack against their own side. His crew was quicker to recover from the impact, having braced for it, and were ready when he barked out sharply, "Fire!"

The volley shredded the side of the frigate, and soon he heard an echo on the opposite side that he recognized as James's cannons.

They made rather short work of it, partly in thanks to the other pirate ship that had been in combat with it first, and soon had the two ships bound together with cables and grappling hooks to board it.

Naruto let go of the wheel and ran to the main mast as they were reeling the ship in, overlooking the deck of all three ships.

"Listen up!" he shouted, living up to his new nickname and drawing the attention of the British captain. "You're being boarded by Captain Naruto Uzumaki and his crew! If you surrender right away, I'll be sparing! But if not, then I'll subdue all of ya' by force, _'ttabeyo_!"

His answer was a gunman at the captain's side raising a rifle to fire at him, though it missed. Seeing that the British naval captain had no qualms about it, he supposed that told him the man was in agreement with his underling.

"Alright, don't say I didn't give you warning!" he hollered, swinging down from the mast to the deck of the enemy ship, wielding his hidden blade. He aimed right for the captain, not managing to have his blade find its mark, and instead ended with them both hitting the wood planks. He rolled to his feet and whirled around, immediately parrying a swing from the gunman's bayonet to the side and managing to cut his throat with a quick swing-and-slice of his hidden blade.

The captain by then was standing and drew a saber from his side, squaring off. Naruto grinned at him, standing ready to fight him.

"Should've just surrendered, but its still not too late for that," he jibed.

The man scoffed. "As if I would give quarter to _pirates_ ," he spat, eyeing the boy up and down in disgust. "Much less one that's a _child_."

"You're gonna regret underestimating me," the teen promised, squaring his shoulders and eyeing the space around the captain more than the man himself, calculating his approach. He only spared a few seconds on thought before he lunged forward, the man doing a fine enough job trying to parry and block him.

The sound around was filled with the clashing of blades and occasional boom of gunfire. Naruto ignored all of it, focusing only on the one man and extending just enough of his senses about him to know if there was an enemy approaching from behind or at the sides.

He leapt to the side away from one swing, then around the other and threw himself forward, tangling the man's leg with his wire-knife and yanking a leg out from under him. As soon as the man hit the deck, he leapt atop him and plunged his knife down into his spine. As soon as he was sure the captain would not be getting up again, he turned his sights up the masts, where gunmen were firing into the crowd below, trying to pick off his crew, scaling up it to take them out.

He was immediately charged at by a bayonet the second his head popped up, and he let out a yelp, swinging his weight and letting go to instead grab the ratlines. He scaled up on the opposite side and grabbed the guy by the leg, yanking him over the edge and letting him fall to the deck, before heaving himself up.

A shot rang out, and a bullet grazed his arm, causing the male to hiss and duck behind the mast and peek his head out. The gunman was already aiming at him again, and he didn't have such a weapon of his own to fire with. He took a few steadying breaths, getting the angle on his throw, then leapt out of hiding, chucking his throwing knife. He ducked away again as another shot fired, and gave the wire a pull to set its angle a bit more, managing to catch him around the neck.

He gave it a fierce tug as the man tried to untangle his neck, but not quick enough to keep from falling and getting strangled. Certainly, the sight of the dangling corpse drew quite a lot of attention as he perched on the crow's nest and shouted at those below.

"Surrender, and the rest of you will find mercy! Your captain is dead and the rest'll follow if you don't lay down your arms!"

There were a few seconds of chaos and uncertainty, some that were unwilling to do as he said, but soon enough they raised their arms in surrender. Satisfied, he made his way back down to deck, most of his and James's own crew baring only scratches here or there and cheering victory.

"It's a good day's work," James stated approvingly as she rejoined him, patting him on the shoulder.

He grinned, lacing his fingers and stretching them in front of him languidly. "It'll be even better once we get to see what goodies the cargo hold has in it!" he couldn't help but pipe. He surveyed the surrendered men aboard the ship and ordered one to take them below deck to the cargo area, taking a few men with them of their own in case anyone below tried to put up further resistance.

Most of it was the typical scene. Sugar and rum dominated most of the space. There were also paintings and clothing imported from various places, but most of them European. There was metal and wood for construction and ship repairs, various weapons and ammo, even a few animals bound for trade and kept in too-small cages, most of them birds.

They were lazily browsing some of the more trinket-like objects and paintings while their crews unloaded the rum and sugar when he paused. One particular thing caught his eye and drew him towards it, and he noticeably paled. What he saw was merely a scrollwork picture, with odd scribbles in black that he couldn't quite identify, yet they seemed vaguely familiar. That wasn't what snatched his attention though. What did it was the drawing next to the scrollwork, a four-legged animal he assumed to be canine in nature, with a tail that started out as one and then branched into several like a leaf and stem.

After staring for a few moments, he noticed that it had exactly nine branches to his tail. Suddenly his dreams came rushing back to memory, the nightmares that plagued him each time there was a storm. Always with a fox. Always with nine tails. And with the dreams where the monster fox was the sea itself, turning it to flame, nine spouts connecting sea-to-sky.

He thought maybe James was near him, saying something, perhaps even asking him a question, but he didn't hear it. He whirled around without thinking, and grabbed their prisoner they'd had lead them below deck by the collar, slamming him against one of the walls and pointing.

"You! What is that? Where did it come from?" The man stuttered pure nonsense for several seconds, eyes wide with panic, then fell silent as he was smacked against the wall again.

"I-I-I d-don't know, honest!" the man stuttered, before correcting himself slightly. "It-it was one of many goods we picked up in the northern colonies!"

"Where?!" Naruto demanded harshly, barely aware of James's hand on his shoulder trying to get his attention and calm his sudden outburst.

"I-it was... um... uh... Richmond? No, no that wasn't it... uhm..." The man chewed on his lip, trying not to meet the boy's smoldering gaze. "Baltimore!" he declared. "I-I believe we were in Baltimore harbor! There was a merchant ship there. I don't know where from, but I know they came from the far East, like you yourself! Perhaps China or India!"

He relaxed slightly and let the man go as that information processed.

"Hey, Naruto lad, just what is this about?" James asked, finally managing to break through his temper.

"Its that damn fox," he muttered, casting a glance over at the scrollwork picture. "The same demon fox that I've been seeing in my nightmares! Nine tails, nine spouts... it _can't_ just be coincidence!" He turned and started pacing, his thoughts racing, trying to make sense of it. "Maybe... maybe it has something to do with me, or where I'm from. I'm _sure_ they have to be connected somehow!"

James idly gnawed her lip, watching him carefully.

"You think maybe you'll want to go lookin' for answers, then?" she guessed.

"I don't know," he admitted, stopping and letting out a breath. "But... I'm sure there's a connection, somehow. I couldn't even begin to explain why I was having those dreams, or what they might mean, but maybe I'll finally get to know!"

She nodded, lowering her gaze. "Well, whatever it is, I hope you find what you're looking for," she told him sincerely. "But don't let it consume all that you are, like Edward let's his ambitions do to him."

He glanced at her, but didn't appear to have anything to say to that.

"Anyway," she added after a moment of thought, more hushed. "Whatever this thing is, somehow its connected to your Sense, which means it might have something to do with the Pieces. It might benefit you to talk to Ah Tabai. He might know something of it that can help you, if you mention it to him. If nothin' else, you should tell him if you intend to leave."

Naruto pursed his lips, thinking on it, then nodded. "Right. After here, we'll return to see him," he decided. "And try to get to the bottom of this."


	14. Decision

As agreed upon, Naruto and James sailed back for Tulum, taking a few small prizes on the way, but otherwise trying to keep a low profile. There, they met with Ah Tabai, Naruto feeling a bit antsy but eager to lend explanation to the dreams he'd been having.

"So how long have you had these nightmares?" Ah Tabai questioned as they walked.

"A few years now," Naruto hummed. He gave it a few more seconds of thought, then added, "Three or four now? About the same time I first joined Edo's crew. Normally I only get them when its storming out. Recently, it feels like they've been becoming more and more true. I can see the paths of waterdevils before it happens, and they appear red to my Sense."

Ah Tabai looked at him in surprise, his dark gaze flicking to James in question, obviously wondering if she had heard the same.

"You should have seen it, Mentor. He rides those storms like no one else I've ever seen, and he really can tell where they're going to go," she confirmed, with a hint of admiration to her voice. "I do think its the real deal."

Ah Tabai nodded, and when he spoke, his words were carefully thoughtful. "In all my years amongst the Assassins, I have not heard of this... gift that you have with the Sense, but neither do I doubt it entirely. I'm afraid that, whatever answers it is you are looking for, I cannot provide them."

"What about up north in the colonies?"

Ah Tabai shook his head. "There are no established Assassin settlements north. I am sorry."

Naruto huffed audibly. "Can't be helped, I guess..."

Sulking, he walked off to the beach with hands shoved into his pockets. When he reached the ledge of a short cliff, he sat down and crossed his legs on the ground and arms over his chest, staring out to sea. There was another storm brewing. He couldn't see it just yet, but he felt the tension in the air, and self-consciously scratched at the whisker-like birthmarks on his cheeks with a low grumble.

James joined him before long.

"So... what do you reckon you're goin' to do now?"

Naruto huffed. "I dunno... but... well..." He hummed and tilted his head, closing his eyes. "This might make me sound crazy... but I feel like... I dunno, like the storms are calling me or something. Weird, right?"

"Perhaps," she returned thoughtfully. "Truth be told though, I don't think it could get much stranger than what the Assassins deal with, like this business with the Sage and the Pieces of Eden. If your Sense is really connected to these storms though, then it probably has something to do with the First Civilization."

"You think so?" Naruto glanced over his shoulder at her.

"Aye. I don't know how, but its probably all connected somehow. _How_ its connected though... well I guess that's something that you're just going to have to figure out."

Naruto hummed skeptically. "I dunno... I mean, I'm not really good at things like that, _'tabbeyo_..."

"Just give it time, lad," James encouraged. "None of this makes sense right away. We were all young and confused once."

"You say that like you're an old lady or something," Naruto grinned.

"Older 'an you!" she rebuked.

Naruto snickered. "Point taken." Sobering, he turned his eyes out towards where a funnel cloud was forming a hurricane out at sea, finally showing itself. "I guess if I want to start getting answers, I'm going to have to find out where that fox picture came from..."

"I guess that means you're going to Baltimore, then?"

"Yeah," Naruto confirmed, straightening up where he sat and staring out at the swirling clouds. "I have to find out what all of this means, and if it leads me back to the land where I was taken from as a kid..." He trailed off.

"I guess we should get you up north to the colonies, then," James said, smiling. "And post haste, by the sound of your determination."


	15. El Impoluto

After leaving Tulum, Naruto and James headed north towards the colonies, taking a few prizes in ships and speared whales along the way. They laid anchor at a sand bar just off the coast of Havana as the sun was setting. The storm, as well as the itch he felt towards chasing it, persisted, though there were no water-devils or red seas for now. The rain drenched him, but he hardly noticed. It wasn't as though being wet was a new development.

Most of the crew were below deck, keeping dry and drinking away their aches. Only a few others stayed above deck or on the sand bar. Predictably, one such person was James, approaching where he sat on the farthest rock jutting from the sand and waves.

"Y'know staring out and lookin' like a drown rat ain't going to get us there any faster," she mused.

Honestly though, it was almost a miracle that he was able to sit still at all. "I know that," he returned.

"Just like the rain, then?"

"It's not that." He paused. "I haven't seen my homeland since I was small. I must of been seven or eight... I don't even really know where in the world it is, but now maybe I'm getting a chance to find it again."

James nodded her understanding. "Aye. It must be a huge deal to you."

Naruto hummed. "To be honest... I can barely remember it now. I mean I've lived out here just as long as I did there, and I like it here. I like this life. Still..."

"Well, maybe this was just a detour," she shrugged. "Our paths open up to us in strange ways sometimes. Not that I'm a huge believer in things like 'destiny', but being armed and ready for whatever adversity comes your way... things like that are important."

Naruto hummed, squinting. "In smaller words, please?"

James huffed and rolled her eyes affectionately. "I'm sayin' that maybe being separated from where you come from prepared you for future challenges. Something like that."

"Oh..." he deadpanned. "Maybe..."

"Anyway," James continued, smacking him on the shoulder. "C'mon, y'should eat and get some rest out of the rain, before you catch your death."

With stomach agreeing in a loud growl, the youth nodded and returned to the ship for just that.

In the early morning, they left for Dry Tortuga to sell off prizes taken from attacked ships and resupply their own for heading north. On the way out of port and towards the colonies, they found the wreckage of some ships dead-in-the-water and ready to sink, with some salvageable loot before the ships were finally dragged fully beneath the waves. There was nothing in sight to indicate who had been responsible, but with the falling rain and cloud cover, it was difficult to see very far.

As they were going, with James's faster ship ahead, she suddenly called out, "Haul in sails, every last scrap!"

Naruto repeated the order to his own crew and banked the ship aside as she did, blinking curiously. "What are we stopping for?"

"To the northwest," James pointed. "That way. Y'see that ship over yonder?"

Finding a spy glass, Naruto scanned the horizon where she pointed until he'd spotted it: a huge Spanish clipper with white-and-brown paneling.

"The _El Impoluto_. She's trouble, that one. A true legend in these waters," James informed. "As armed as any other brig with a nasty ram, but rigged and gunned like a galleon, and faster than any other to boot."

"Its _that_ powerful?" Naruto marveled.

"Aye. Few are any ship as fierce and feared as that one. We'd best keep our distance, assuming we want to live to see sunset."

Naruto nodded with a touch of disappointment, thinking it could be an exciting fight, but he didn't fancy dying, and he trusted James's judgment. As soon as he was about to call for sails, someone rung the bell in the crow's nest frantically, catching everyone's attention.

"The beast is turning this way!"

James's head snapped around and she lifted her spyglass for a few seconds, then dropped it and started barking orders. "I want full sail _yesterday_! Loose that rigging and be ready to man the guns! Let no man rest or cower this moment, I want all hands on deck and limber!"

The men on both ships didn't need to be told again, jumping to work immediately. The sails dropped soon enough and caught wind with audible _SNAP_ s, lurching both ships into motion, though the _El Impoluto_ had already gained momentum and was baring down on them hard.

Without orders, several men were already preparing fire barrels and threw a good three of them overboard, creating a row of floating explosives. The legendary ship crashed straight through them with minimal, if any, damage, charging behind with all intents on ramming the stern. Naruto cursed foully under his breath, trying to evade it, but the larger ship - as Kidd has said - was much, much faster and cracked through the rear hull.

Almost as soon as it had crashed into them and they pulled away, it lurched forward and cracked into the smaller brig from behind, shattering the windows of the captain's cabin and audibly splitting wood.

Turning the wheel sharply and as hard as possibly, he let the larger ship push his by the stern until both ships flanked each other, and promptly ordered, "Fire broadside!"

The cannons roared to life, sending flaming Heavy Shots ripping through the other ship at close range as the enemy clipper glided by. There was only a few-second delay before the _El Impoluto_ did the same, Naruto taking cover a fraction of a second before canon fire would have taken off his head, wood splintering in every direction.

There were screams; he saw someone go flying over the deck and into the water; another man's leg sheered straight off at the knee and left them bleeding all over the deck. The light-haired male heard James bark orders for chain shots at the enemy ship's mast and sails, only slowing it a small degree before she veered away from its line of sight for canons.

"How're you holdin' up?" James called as Naruto sprung back up for the wheel, now that huge balls of iron weren't peppering their hull and deck.

"Been better!" Naruto called back, angling his head over his shoulder. The Spanish clipper was turning full-swing around, and it was turning sharply. "Damn... no kidding about the reputation of that thing." Even if they ran as fast as their sails could pull, there was no way they'd even make it to any near-semblance of land before being sunk. Likely James was coming to a similar conclusion. He grit his teeth.

_What do we do?_

There was no way that they'd best that ship in a fair naval fight. Their ships simply weren't equipped for it. What damage they had delivered to the _El Impoluto_ at close range it had done back to them ten fold. It was bigger than them and faster, its ram was larger, and it could turn far sharper than seemed possible. It truly was a ship unlike any other and he trembled with both fear and envy of it. If he had a ship like that...

"I've got a plan," he called to James, grinning nervously. "Its totally crazy, but its the best we've got right now, I think..."

James looked decidedly wary about the expression on the boy's face. "And what would that be?"

"We're going to take it," he supplied simply. "There's no way we're going to outrun it and no way we're going to beat it the old traditional way... any way you look at it, we're going to get sunk... might as well pick an even better replacement."

"That's absolutely loony, we'll get torn to ribbons!"

"Maybe, but its better than getting sunk running with our tails between our legs!" he rebuked, swinging his ship around to face the incoming threat. "Just stick to the shadow of my ship between us and it until I can get aboard, and slow it down for me if you can - just try not to get yourselves hit!" James's smaller ship would go down in an instant if they were caught in the firing range.

James huffed resignation and wheeled around. "Aye, I've got your back."

Seeing the ship coming straight for them was nerve-wracking, but he was still convinced it was better than running and being battered into the bottom of the sea anyway. He ordered sharply, "Fire Chain-shot!" and watched the canon fire blaze, tattering sails but doing little to the frame of the masts. He _tsk_ ed. At the very least, it slowed the ship's pace somewhat, but only to matching their own speed.

When a crewmember rushed by along the deck, away from the bow, he grabbed them quickly by the arm.

"Hey, you! You know how to steer, right?"

The dark-skinned male - whose hair was a contrasting shade bordering on white - stared at him as if he'd sprouted a second head, speaking in return but it was a slew of gibberish that he had not the slightest clue if it was even a coherent sentence. He bit his lip and grumbled frustration, trying to come up with a feasible way to get his point across regardless. At the very least, the other male was humoring him with patience, waiting to either be dismissed or given some sort of order that was understood.

Finally, he slapped the steering wheel a few times with an open palm and pointed into the man's chest, making a questioning. "Yes?"

The African looked surprised, pointing to himself in question and looking at the steering wheel. Naruto nodded and stepped away, motioning to it. The young man looked unsteady, shell-shocked even, but he didn't have time to ponder it. He made a motion like controlling the wheel, pointed at the other male, made a crashing motion with either fist and pointed to indicate ramming the enemy ship, and then dashed along deck to the ratlines. He wasn't even sure he trusted the other to do it, but didn't have time to waste finding someone who _definitely_ would without question.

A glance from above on the mast's crosstree at least assured him the brown male hadn't simply run and thrown himself overboard or something, and he kept climbing until he had reached the topmast.

Both the ships collided then and almost sent him toppling from the rigging, Naruto yelping aloud and scrambling for a hold on something to keep from being thrown. A glance downward was enough to affirm that his ship wasn't going to last past another two rams or solid rounds of canon fire. It was now or never.

As the ships were grinding flanks past each other, he ran the length of the crosstree and leapt across to the other ship's rigging, almost knocking the wind out of himself as he landed. Regardless, he didn't pause, scrambling up to a platform where there was a gunman armed with a rifle bayonet. The uniformed man jumped with surprise as the lad heaved himself up, aiming to run him through, but Naruto dodged around it and rammed his shoulder into the man's gut, sending him toppling all the way down onto the deck.

A shot rang out and barely missed his side from the opposite topmast, instead tearing a small hole through his jacket. Naruto jumped in delayed surprise and ducked behind the wood pole, peeking his head around. The other gunman was still busy with reloading, and luckily the one that fell had dropped his own weapon, allowing Naruto to lift it up, aim, and fire. He hadn't used a larger gun before now and was surprised at how much kickback it had, jamming back against his collarbone and leaving it sore, but it hit and sent the opposite mast's gunman sprawling.

By now, a good half of the crew had become aware that he'd leapt aboard, many scrambling up the ratlines to confront him. He wasn't going to wait for them, unfurling his rolled sleeves so that he had enough fabric to go between his hands and a rope and swung down the side, sliding all the way down to the deck and only dropping the last few feet onto an unprepared crewman, jamming his hidden blade through the back of their neck.

Several people scattered and then regrouped almost as quickly, drawing swords and closing in, though Naruto - having been prepared as soon as he slid down the rope - was already a step ahead of them, leaping up onto covered boats with stolen sword in-hand and partway up the mast, climbing as skillfully as a squirrel just high enough that he could cut the rigging lines that were keeping the sails taut.

Gunfire and angry shouts echoed across the ship, and Naruto had to grit his teeth to keep from yelling out as two bullets grazed him and one solidly hit his thigh, sending him toppling hard onto the deck. There were thundering boots all around him and two firm arms that grabbed his on either side, wrenching him to his feet and removing the sword from his grasp.

A dark-haired man more heavily dressed than the rest approached, barking off orders in heavy Spanish of which Naruto could only distinguish snippets - something about getting moving and the sails, probably telling them to fix the damage he'd caused and left them slugging through the water rather than racing through it. The man stopped then in front of him, face cold and dismissive, though also more than a touch annoyed.

"If you want a discussion, you're gonna have to make it in English, _'tabbeyo_..."

The man scoffed, raising his head and meeting glaring blue hues with his own mocking dark brown ones. "How disappointing... the pirate capitán sends a little mixed Oriental boy to do his dirty work for him... probably thinking that it will give him time to run away to the far horizon."

Naruto chuckled throatily, catching the man by mild surprise as he stood up straighter, his sharp eyes defiant. "Funny you should mention that... seeing as you're _talking_ to the captain."

"You?" the man exclaimed in disbelief, clearly thinking it a bluff. "You're nothing but a child."

Naruto thrust his arms to either side of him, catching the men holding him with hidden blades and thrusting them towards the deck, one gurgling on their blood and another spasming and then falling still.

"Now listen here! You're addressing Captain Naruto Uzumaki, the Yapping Fox! I'd tell you to remember it, but you probably won't live that long!"

It was at that point he lunged and was satisfied when the man - who hadn't yet recovered from his shock to hear that the one he regarded as nothing but a child and a nuisance was actually a pirate captain - stumbled and tripped over his own heel, falling backwards.

Naruto didn't get the immediate satisfaction of his end when a crewman jumped to his captain's aid and parried Naruto's assault, but he was easy enough to dodge around and cut down, running a hidden blade through his back. Another man lunged at his own back and he blocked their swing, grabbing them by the collar and belt and rolling them over his shoulders into two more who thought they'd tag-team charge him from the opposite side, all landing in a heap.

Naruto reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a smoke bomb, slamming it into the deck and catching the men of the _El Impoluto_ unaware, blinding and choking them with the haze and giving himself a chance to take a good three or four out before it cleared.

A larger, burly man caught him around the throat with the handle of a big axe, lifting him completely off his feet while another ran in to impale him on a rapier. The man didn't get the chance as his head blew clear off, scattering sickening rid bits. Someone shouted in alarm, all eyes turning towards Naruto's ship barreling straight at their side and ramming hard into them, sending the Spanish brig reeling to the side.

Naruto aimed a good, hard kick at the groin of the man holding him, lodging a hidden blade in his eye when the man doubled over still trying to keep a hold of him, and wrenched free. A grappling hook landed on the deck next to his feet and pulled taut, catching the railing of the ship and pulling them flush. The enemy captain started shouting orders to fight them off and fire canons to sink the other brig, even as Naruto's own men were leaping aboard to overtake them. A few of the Spanish ship's crew managed another volley of canon blasts into his ship that finally shattered the hull and send it slowly sinking towards the depths.

Naruto let his crewmates take on the men of the boarded ship, turning his attention to the captain and baring his hidden blades as he approached. The man cockily raised his nose and a full sword of his own.

" _C_ _apitán_ or not, I will see you hung with the rest of the rabble. _No hay piedad para los piratas_ _!_ " The man lunged first, aiming to jab him through the chest with the sword.

Naruto parried his blade to the side and leapt forward, but had his own attack thwarted and pushed aside, trying to attack with his other hand and having no better success. Each attempt he made, the other man managed to block with his sword and send skating off to either side, before he took a swing with the pommel and cracked Naruto in the jaw, sending him staggering.

The man attacked before he'd fully recovered, managing to shallowly slice through his shoulder just above the collarbone and barely missing his neck. In the moment that Naruto was dodging to roll aside, the man kicked out and hit his wounded leg where he'd been shot earlier, making the boy see flashes of white as pain shot up in lightning bolts and he couldn't entirely muffle a small scream.

He hit the deck as the leg gave way under him and barely rolled in time to miss a downward jab of the man's sword, and another that caught and tore the edge of his red coat. Tiring of stabbing and missing, the man planted a heel on his wounded leg again, causing the boy to gasp aloud. The man's eyes lit up in victory once he'd halted the boy's motions, lifting his sword up to run the young captain through, but he was leapt upon from above and sent sprawling.

Naruto sat up quickly, eyes wide with surprise as James rolled with the landing across deck and back to her feet.

"Ye' alright, lad?"

He grinned, thinking that he couldn't be happier about her timing. "More than you could ever know!" He scrambled to his feet, keeping weight off the wounded leg as it throbbed sharply.

"Well I think I've got a pre'y good idea," James remarked in return. The man was still re-finding his feet, looking ruffled and offended. "You want to finish this blighter off? Or should I have the honor?"

"You can help, if you want," Naruto grinned, feeling a little more self-assured with her there. "But otherwise, this guy's all mine."

He rushed forward and thrust a blade at the man, who parried it aside and immediately whirled at James, who was closing in towards his back, blocking one of her swings and taking a slash of his own. She dodged it easily, and he whirled again at Naruto as he too lunged, the man swinging his sword downwards. Naruto crossed his hidden blades to stop the swing, ignoring the impact tingle that traveled down both arms and kicking out at the man's groin.

The man aimed a punch in his direction, but the blow missed, just barely brushing past the tip of his nose, and Naruto roundhouse-kicked the man in the head, sending him toppling to the side. While the man was still floundering, he half-leapt and half-limped forward, planting a heel on fingers still coiled around the sword handle.

" _Pringaos!_ " the man spat disdainfully, hissing in pain. "Even if you cut me down here, you won't go free! My men will see to it you die!"

"Big talk," James mused, shrugging her shoulders cockily. "Fer a man 'bout to take a trip down to Davey Jones' locker."

His eyes twitched to James and then back to Naruto as he bared his hidden blade to strike the man's throat, putting a swift end to the Spanish captain's life.

The fight still wasn't over, and after a quick breather, Naruto and James spun back towards the rest of the ship where their crews were fighting the Spanish soldiers. There were casualties on both sides, and Naruto cursed under his breath any time he saw someone he recognized fall under a blade or a pistol that he wasn't fast enough to save, though such instances were few. After somewhere close to another twenty minutes of fighting, the _El Impoluto_ 's crew surrendered.

By then, sweat drenched Naruto's knitted brow and he felt light-headed from adrenaline and the bleeding bullet wound to his thigh, swaying a little more than could be accounted for by the rock of the ship. Still, he remained on his feet, dark maroon spots flecking his red coat, his off-white shirt, his face. At the very least - he noted in satisfaction - the men aboard the _El Impoluto_ who weren't under him or James' commands looked quite intimidated by the sight as they were bound and forced to sit or kneel, awaiting their fate.

For a moment, the world blurred and spun, and by the time he'd realized he'd momentarily lost consciousness, there were hands already on his shoulders steadying him.

"Easy, lad." It was James again. "Y'should sit down."

He cast her a grateful look, but straightened up stubbornly. "I will," he assured her. "But first..." James followed his gaze to the rest of the _El Impoluto_ 's crew. Naruto stepped a few strides away from her to stand in front of the men, who looked as if they expected to be shot one at a time down the row or ran through with cutlasses.

"Listen up!" he rasped. "This ship is falling under ownership of me and my crew now, _'tabbeyo_! So long as you don't try to fight us further or stir up any trouble, if you want to be a part of my crew, then I'll let you live and prove yourselves! Is all of that understood?"

One or two of the captured men spoke quickly to his companions in Spanish. Relaying what he'd said to those who understood English less, he guessed. He was met with a chorus of _yes_ and _understood_ and _si_ 's.

Naruto nodded his approval, muttering for someone in his own crew to take over while he went and found a place to sit or lay down somewhere. Most likely the captain's cabin, now that the previous one of the Spanish ship was dead, before he really did pass out. It would be very difficult to maintain control of the situation and convince the _El Impoluto_ 's crew not to start anything if he hit the deck unconscious right in front of them.

James dogged his steps the entire way, not being too doting with the enemy crew still in-sight and only insisting he take it easy once they were behind closed doors. He must have really looked bad right then, with the look James was giving him, and every word sounded like she was speaking to him from underwater, his ears ringing. She wrapped a cloth around his thigh to stem the bleeding before hopping back up.

He got the impression she was telling him to stay there, probably while she went and grabbed a doctor from one of the crews or something - he still couldn't hear very clearly - before she left. Soon after that, everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I got all the Spanish-speaking parts right *sweatdrops* The only second language I know is a very small amount of Japanese

**Author's Note:**

> In case you're wondering "Why is Naruto's hair a brownish-gingery sort of color?" I'll explain.
> 
> I'm going with a little more realism here and since I'm making Naruto from Japan, I gave him a more tanned complexion, and because light hair(blond, white) is not a naturally dominant trait in the genetics of Japanese people, I made it more of a light brownish, but I also wanted to keep some subtle traits of Kushina's red hair(so Naruto's is almost ginger in appearance, and because red hair is supposed to be a trademark appearance of the Uzumaki clan) but also I wanted to keep his deep blue eyes like those of his father's. I also wanted his hair to be slightly reddish/brown to reflect Kurama/Kyuubi/a fox in appearance a little more.
> 
> Hope that explains it to those that are confused or perhaps unhappy about it.


End file.
